Feel God's Pleasure

"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. 

If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever.  Amen.               1 Peter 4:10

 

Most of you probably have no clue who this is. If you saw his name, maybe only some of you would know his story.

This is Eric Liddell.  Part of Eric's life is the subject of the 1981 movie, Chariots of Fire.  He had an amazing life of faith, conviction and endurance. He felt God's pleasure because he was obedient and he embraced how He was created and used it to bring Glory to God.

Eric was born in China to Scottish missionaries.   He was a faithful Christian and a gifted athlete.  When he qualified to run in the 1924 Olympics, he found out his best races, the 100 and two relays, were scheduled on a Sunday.  His conviction to only rest and worship on the Lord's Day led him to withdraw from those events.  He was forced to switch to the 400 and began to prepare for that race instead.  Since this wasn't his normal event, many did not expect him to win. He was up against two runners that held previous records and he was assigned to the last lane.
Before he took to the track, an American competitor handed him a note with this scripture:

"Those who honor me I will honor"   1 Samuel 2:30

Fully abandoned and running to give it all to God, he won the Olympic gold medal that day, breaking both the Olympic and world records.   

Eric later told the press his secret for success in the 400:

"The secret of my success over the 400 meters is that I run the first 200 meters as fast as I can. Then, for the second 200 meters, with God's help, I run faster."

Later his wife was quoted as saying:

‘Eric always said that the great thing for him was that when he stood by his principles and refused to run in the 100 metres, he found that the 400 metres was really his race. He said he would never have known that otherwise. He would never have dreamed of trying the 400 at the Olympics.’

He returned to Scotland a hero.  But, his story does not end there.

Liddell followed God's lead, returned to China and served there the rest of his life.  He married a fellow missionary and had a family.  Japan's WWII invasion and hostility towards Christians, made life for his young family very unsafe.  He sent them to his wife's parents in Canada when she was pregnant with their third child....they never returned.  Soon after, he was interned by the Japanese, and spent the last two years of his life in prison camp, dying there of a brain tumor in 1948, at the young age of 43.   It was reported by fellow missionaries that his last words were,:

"It's complete surrender." 

In 2008, the Chinese government released information that Liddell refused early release from this prison camp and, in a prisoner exchange, had them release a pregnant woman instead.  Until the end, he lived a life in complete surrender to God and His will above all else.

 

The life of Eric Liddell encourages us to do several things:

1.  Know God.  Study Him by studying His word.  Don't just go on what others are teaching you, get into the word for yourself and let the Holy Spirit mold you as you read His words.

2.  Know yourself.  Who did God create you to be? Look at how you are wired.  What are your special talents and gifts?  What brings you the most pleasure deep inside your soul?  Is there something that others have recognized in you that is a special way that God uses you to bless them?

3.  Obey God.  Listen to His word and to His Spirit as He guides and directs your path.

4.  Trust God.  Commitment and obedience will sometimes fly in the face of the world and of those around you.  Don't let them scare you....just do it!

5.  Serve God.  Don't be afraid to go!  Do what he is leading you to do, even if it is not what is popular or what others understand.  If it is in line with the Word of God and it is where God is pulling your heart, then go!  Step out and do it.  Find others that are going in the same direction and get with them!

Whatever you do, don't just live your life in a boring, dead trap.  Let God infuse life into you and live your life in abundance.  Do big things for Him and do not be afraid.  For me, there are certain things that really rev me up.  I can feel God moving and working through me.  Find what that is for you and do it.  Maybe that's where He will use you to scatter the most seeds.

What are you going to do this year for the Kingdom of God?  What will be your legacy?

It might not bring you fame or recognition.  In fact, if it weren't for the fact that Eric Liddell was an Olympic runner, it's possible none of us would know his name or his story.  There are people serving all over your church, town and this world, whose names we will never know.  But they choose to obey and are great heroes of faith, conviction and endurance.  What they do brings God glory and draws people to Him.  When they do this, they feel God's pleasure.

Step out in faith and run where God is telling you to run.  There you will also feel God's pleasure....