Never settle for anything less than God’s best for your life.
Pastor Don Pittman
Don Pittman, founder of Higher Calling Community Church in Indianapolis, coined the phrase never settle on Easter Sunday 2006. That day proved to be a miracle because he had been told he would not live to see it.
On April 21, 1999, Pastor Don was diagnosed with an incurable, life-threatening cancer of the bone marrow known as Multiple Myeloma. Despite being told it was unlikely for him to ever leave the hospital alive, Pastor Don fought the cancer in his body for seven years. To the amazement of his doctors, Pastor Don not only survived, but thrived through one relapse after another.
But in July of 2005, Pastor Don relapsed for the final time. With no more chemotherapy, radiation, or clinical trials left to administer, Don’s body begin to deteriorate. He was given only two weeks to live but once again he battled infections, pneumonia, blood clots in his lungs, and even uncontrollable bleeding. He continued to “never settle” by not giving up or giving in to the cancer but rather living every day to the fullest and pursuing his purpose and passion in life. Pastor Don thought of life like a marathon. A long, hard race but one that we should run to win and then at the end, finish strong! He did just that. He lived his life with purpose, he never settled, and on August 3, 2006, he finished strong.
Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step.
1 Corinthians 9:24-25