RUN LIKE A CHAMPION

“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless.’” (Genesis 17:1)
One of the most extraordinary moments of my life and ministry took place in Ethiopia in 1999. The situation had been extremely difficult for churches, because the nation had been under communist domination for 19 years. Following the collapse of communist rule, the church struggled for several more years. Then God opened a door for me to preach a citywide evangelistic campaign in the capital city, Addis Ababa.
Expectations were running high in the city for the series of meetings, and I sensed that God was going to do something wonderful. God spoke to my heart on the plane as I traveled to Addis Ababa: “Son, I’ve called you to run this race. Now run like a champion.”
The first day of meetings exceeded all my dreams. More than 45,000 people packed the stadium. Thousands responded to the message. The second day, even more people came and responded. By the third day, there were over 70,000 people at the stadium. When I awoke that morning, I tried to say “good morning” to my wife, but no sounds came out of my mouth. I couldn’t believe it. I was scheduled to speak to the largest crowd in my life, and I had no voice.
I silently poured my heart out to God: “O God, you put it in my heart to run like a champion, and now I can’t even speak. Why? What’s going on, Lord?”
God replied, “Son, this is how a champion runs in My kingdom.” That day I experienced God as El Shaddai, the Almighty God. When we come to the end of ourselves — when we can’t do what God has called us to do and we cast ourselves on the Lord — He loves and cares for us, and then moves on our behalf as El Shaddai, the Almighty God.
Such was the case with Abraham, the father of our faith. Abraham met God as “El Shaddai” in Genesis 17. But Abram first met God in a vision in Genesis 15 as “Jehovah, the Lord.” In his first encounter with Jehovah, God made Abram a promise to bless him with a land and a people: “He took him outside and said, ‘Look up at the heavens and count the stars — if indeed you can count them.’ Then He said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be’” (Genesis. 15:5).
But something had to happen before Abram would see the promise fulfilled. Abram would have to come to the end of himself. He would have to be placed in a position where it was impossible for him and his wife to have children. After Abram was 99 years old, God appeared to him once again. This time, God revealed Himself as El Shaddai, God Almighty. When Abram could do nothing in his own power, God would show Himself as a loving, caring, and almighty God. God would do what Abram was unable to do.
Abram would never again be the same after meeting God as “El Shaddai.” In fact, in that meeting his name would be changed to Abraham. Abram had attempted to do God’s will in his own power, but he failed miserably. He ended up having a child through his wife’s servant. But once he understood the nature and character of God and trusted Him completely, he would see the fulfillment of the divine promise.
That was exactly what God was trying to teach me in Ethiopia. He wanted me to know Him as El Shaddai. But first I had to come to the end of myself. I had to lose my voice. When I stood in that stadium and spoke, I could only squeak out a message. But the interpreter was able to hear it, and thousands responded to the message. The final day of the meetings, God moved in an extraordinary manner. It was a moment of divine intervention in the history of the people of Ethiopia.
We come to know God as El Shaddai when we come to the end of ourselves. When it’s impossible to do what He’s called us to do, then He undertakes. Then He shows us His love and care. Then He reveals Himself as Almighty God. Are you at the end of yourself? Do you feel it’s impossible to do what He wants you to do? If so, then I say to you, good. You may be on the verge of getting to know God as El Shaddai.