RUN LIKE A CHAMPION

“Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.” (Ephesians 2:19, 20 kjv)
God has been so good to me in many different ways. One of the great blessings He’s given to me is abundant friendships. He’s blessed me with friends around the world. One of those is a missionary to Brazil whom God has used mightily. Wade Akins and his family left the comforts of their home in the United States because of their love for the Brazilian people.
Wade is one of the greatest personal evangelists and church planters I’ve ever met. He began a movement in Brazil called “Pioneer Evangelism” that’s resulted in hundreds of churches being planted all over the nation. One day Wade came home from a conference. His son ran out to meet him exclaiming, “Dad, hurry. Something’s happened to Mom!” Wade rushed into his house to find his wife, Sherry, lying on the floor — dead. She had been struggling for some time with a disease that finally took its ultimate toll.
Wade was devastated. He loved God. He loved his family. And he dearly loved Sherry. Her body was returned to the United States for burial. At her funeral I had the privilege of being one of the speakers. Wade shared with me what happened immediately after Sherry’s death.
“ I felt as though I was falling into a deep, dark tunnel,” he said. “The farther I fell, the darker it became. Life seemed so hopeless. But then I hit bottom, and at the bottom of that tunnel was a Rock. And that Rock began to lift me out of the darkness and fog that I had been experiencing. That Rock was and is Jesus.”
For many years, Wade had been a flame of fire for Christ. But that didn’t insulate him from life’s hurts and sorrows. Suffering is a part of every Christian’s experience. But there’s wonderful news for one who has stepped into tragedy. There is a Rock, and that Rock is Christ. He’s the sure foundation for our lives and for our churches. There’s no tragedy too great, no storm too violent for Him. He’s the secure foundation of our lives. When we’ve built our lives on Jesus, we can rest assured that we will ultimately have victory — whether in life or in death.
Both Paul and Peter understood this great truth. They wrote of Christ being the “chief cornerstone” of the church. They likened our position in Christ to that of the cornerstone of the temple. Paul said we are being built upon Christ as our cornerstone, and we’re held together by that cornerstone. In the first century, the cornerstone was the foundational stone that secured the walls of great structures. And they were right. Both Paul and Peter were martyred because of their faith in Christ.
But death couldn’t stop the great movement of God in the first century. Yes, Paul was perhaps the greatest missionary to ever live. Peter was God’s man on the day of Pentecost. But they weren’t the church’s foundation stones. Jesus was, is, and always will be that chief cornerstone. Satan can slay the leaders of the church, but He can’t destroy the church. For the church is built on an immovable, unshakable Cornerstone — Jesus. Christ is risen, and nothing is too difficult for the resurrected Christ.
Wade Akins came to know Jesus as the Chief Cornerstone, and he was able to weather one of the greatest storms in life. There’s no storm so severe that it can destroy you if you’ve built your life on the Chief Cornerstone. The winds of adversity may blow across your path. The rains of problems may descend on your life. The stresses of life may rise like a mighty raging flood. But when you’ve built your life on the Chief Cornerstone, you’ll stand in the midst of the storm. As He did for Wade Akins, that Cornerstone will lift you out of despair into victory.