The Wall
This month, as we prepare to release our new book, Jack Power: Young Lion Running, I want to share, in these Friday articles, key takeaways, and even partial stories from the book. I hope you’ll be blessed by these stories. And I hope that you will purchase a copy of Jack Power Young Lion Running as soon as it releases. In doing so you’re helping us empower kids and youth in Zambia! And you’re helping us build lions.
When we first met Jack, we were working at a community resource center called Isubilo in the Chifubu compound of Ndola’s north end. Heidi and I would regularly teach kids’ Bible lessons on Saturday mornings. It was the beginning of our Saturday church tradition. One Saturday, not long after we moved to Ndola, I vividly remember, sharing about the walls that we build up in our hearts that seem to separate us from Jesus.
We knelt on the ground and we placed baked earth bricks between us to hit the main point home. One brick represented fears, one brick represented anger, another represented frustration, yet another represented disappointment, another sadness, another hurt. And the stack grew and grew. It became so tall, I could not see Heidi on the other side. And it became to heavy to move by myself!
Years later , Jack relayed that that message stuck with him and impacted him deeply. He started to wonder if he might have a wall in his heart. And he had good reason to. He had suffered a lot. He had been let down a lot; and he had plenty to be angry about. But as he made the brave choice to surrender it all to Jesus, Jesus broke the wall down! He lifted it in one fell swoop!
Jack couldn’t have done it himself. The bricks were too heavy. But Jesus leveled the playing field. Where once Jack felt like his prayers couldn’t get through, suddenly he felt like he was doing life hand-in-hand with his new Lord and Savior.
If you have a wall in your heart, or if you have allowed offense to build up…if you feel like your prayers aren’t getting through or God’s not speaking back to you, just surrender that pain. He is strong and mighty to bring a heavenly sledgehammer and tear down that dividing wall.
For Christ himself has brought peace to us…He broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. - Ephesians 2:14
There’s too much at stake to stay behind the wall. You and Jesus have an amazing story to write with your life. The world needs your roar, lion…
So, in the words of President Ronald Reagan… Tear down that wall!