Where Greatness Is Born

“He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted…” Luke 4:18

Heartbreak Hill is a notoriously challenging hill located around the 20-mile mark of the Boston Marathon. It is known for its steep climb and timing in the race when runners are already fatigued. It is widely considered one of the toughest sections of the marathon course and is the spot where many runners leave the race. Many good runners can make it to the 20-mile mark, but it is the truly great runners who make it over Heartbreak Hill and finish the course.

Greatness is born, not in the easy times, but in the times when your heart is broken.

Greatness is found when you have every reason to be bitter and angry at life, but you choose to stay the course and say, “I may not understand, but God is still a good God.” Great men and women of God will keep going and make it over the “hills” of heartbreak, disappointment, tragedy, crises, and difficult times. When they face a huge mountain, their heart is shattered, their mind is cloudy, and everything in them is screaming to give up, something inside them will kick in and say, “I will never stop serving Him. I know my God is good, and by His grace, I am going to win the prize!”

When Naomi began her race, she looked good. She had a husband and two sons and they had married two beautiful women. She had a picture-perfect family. Then the gun went off, and the race began. It was easy and fantastic at first. But then she arrived at Heartbreak Hill. Her husband died, and then both of her sons died as well. As she is standing at Heartbreak Hill with her daughter-in-laws, one of them decides that the race is too hard and goes home. But Ruth grabbed hold of Naomi and said (paraphrased), “We’re not going to die at the foot of Heartbreak Hill. We are going over this hill, and we’re going to see what God has on the other side.” 

God led them to the land of a rich man named Boaz, who would soon take Ruth as his wife. Most people do not know that Boaz was the son of Rahab the prostitute. Ruth was a Moabite, a group of people who came into existence because Lot slept with his own daughters. So you have Ruth, who was the product of incest, and Boaz, who was the product of a prostitute mother, and God brought them together to produce the genealogy of Jesus Christ our Lord. Your family may have been through Heartbreak Hill, but God can bless you beyond your background and past experiences. You may think that Heartbreak Hill is the end, but that is the place where champions are born. 

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