I Samuel 17:51-52 “Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled. And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou come to the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron.”
There is another reason when you should stay faithful, even when you don’t think you can make a difference (see previous post) – the power of the breakthrough. Nothing illustrates this point better than the story of Roger Bannister.
In the mid-1950s, the track and field world was awash with interest in breaking the four-minute-mile. It had never been done, and some were thinking that it could never be done. After all, the world records had been within three seconds of the notable milestone since 1943, and kept creeping ever closer to the four-minute mark in the intervening decade. Yet, no one could break that magical barrier. Even though several men in 1953 and early 1954 were running within a few seconds of the mark, no one could surpass the challenge … until May 6, 1954.
On that day in Oxford, England, Roger Bannister ran a mile in just under four minutes. It could be done! Sure enough, 46 days later, Bannister’s record was broken. By 1958, the record had decreased to below three minutes and fifty-five seconds. At that point, sub-four-minute-miles had become the standard in the world of track and field.
Roger Bannister’s breakthrough motivated others who were then aware that it was possible to do what was once thought of as impossible. David’s breakthrough against Goliath did the same. Similarly, a single breakthrough by us can do the same in our land.
PLEASE PRAY THAT OUR SINGULAR SUCCESSES WOULD MOTIVATE OTHERS. We may provide the breakthrough that could cause a flood of follow-on victories in America.
