RUN LIKE A CHAMPION

I was a brand new follower of Jesus in 1965 and awed by the goodness and greatness of God. At that time, I wasn’t used to church life and knew very little of the Bible. The Christian life was a grand adventure upon which I had just embarked. I was learning to live by faith without having a lot of information about the nature of the faith I was experiencing.
I was attending Louisiana State University when Christ came into my life. I knew immediately that God had a call upon my life to proclaim His salvation to the nations of the world. Two nights later I surrendered my life to that great task. I felt that I needed to leave the state university and study at a Christian school where I could learn more about the Bible. Thus, I transferred to a small Baptist College in the state.
While studying at the Christian school, I went to a small country church and listened to an evangelist named Manley Beasley. He was preaching on the subject of faith. I came under such conviction about my lack of faith that I couldn’t stand to listen to his entire message. I walked out of the church during the middle of his sermon. In the parking lot, under an old tree, I cried out to God, “Oh God, I don’t know the kind of faith this man’s talking about. But I want to be a man of faith. Teach me to trust You for everything.”
It didn’t take long for God to usher me into His school of faith. I had two scholarships that paid for my education while attending the state university. But I had nothing to assist me in my studies at the Christian school. But I knew that God had called me there. I remember praying and asking God to show me how to pay for my education. The next day I went into the administration office and asked to see how much my bill would be. The lady looked into my file and said, “Nothing.”
I was stunned. “That can’t be,” I stuttered. “What do you mean? Surely there must be some mistake.”
The kind lady looked a little further into the records and then told me something that surprised me even more. “The Sammy Tippit Scholarship Fund,” she said, “has taken care of it.”
“What Sammy Tippit Scholarship Fund?” I asked.
She then said, “It’s anonymous.”
I walked out of that office and then ran to my room. I fell on my knees and worshiped God as Jehovah Jireh! God was beginning to teach me to walk and live by faith. It was out of that experience and others like it early in my Christian life that I learned to walk by faith. I don’t believe that I would be doing the things that I’m doing today if I hadn’t learned to live by faith during those early days of my Christian life.
The author of the book of Hebrews says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him”(Hebrews 11:6 NIV). When Jesus spoke of prayer, He often combined it with faith. If we are going to truly be pleasing to God, then we must pray… and pray in faith. After all, He is Jehovah Jireh.