God likens living out our faith to the running of a race—a metaphor that overflows with connections to the Christian life. We see this analogy at play in Hebrews 12:1, but the analogy doesn't stop there. Every athlete knows that to win a race, you need a winning training regimen. And in the verse after the verse, that’s exactly what God gives to us.

Jeremiah 29:11 reminds us the truth: “God has a plan.” But those words don’t exactly inspire confidence in many people. “Is my cancer God’s plan? Does God even take my prayers into consideration if He already has a plan?” If you’ve ever wondered what’s the point of prayer if God already has His plan, it’s time to read the verse after the verse.

John 3:16…the King of Bible verses. Almost everyone knows it by heart. Sadly, the verse after the verse doesn’t hold the same recognition. As we keep reading, we see Scripture doesn't just emphasize the message of salvation—but the message of no condemnation. Jesus’ mission was to save, not to judge. And now it’s time for the Church to follow suit.

Jesus’ promise in Matthew 11:28 is beautiful—it’s a promise to give rest to all those who come to Him. But Jesus’ idea of “rest” isn’t about taking away the problems of life. It’s about making us stronger and content in Him, despite our circumstances. It’s about the peace that comes when we realize that if our rest is found in God, nothing can disturb it.

Outside of John 3:16, there may not be a more memorable verse than the one found in Philippians 4:13. Paul writes: “I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength.” It’s a wonderful declaration about the power of God. But as we continue reading, we find out that help doesn’t just come from God above us—help comes from friends around us.

We’ve taken huge leaps of faith to get where we are today as a church. But those steps of trust in God won’t take us where we need to go next. New moments require new miracles, and we’re going to need to trust God to come through for us. The good news? God has delivered on His word time after time, and we can trust that He will do it again.

If you’ve lived for any length of time, you’ve seen your share of hardships. But if you’ve put your trust in Jesus in the midst of those hardships, you’ve also seen God’s faithfulness. In fact, one of the best things we can do in the “here and now” is look back to the “there and then” and see how God used the pressures in our life for our good.

It’s an amazing thing to witness a “What If?” transform into a “What Is…”—and we’ve lived this experience at Cornerstone. We’ve seen God take our dreams and turn them into reality. But the truly incredible thing is that we know He’s just getting started! God’s doing abundantly more than we could imagine, and we can’t wait to see what He has in store!