BFB-The Stretch Devotional & Guide 2026 - Flipbook - Page 38
REACH FORWARD | STRETCHING TOWARD THE FUTURE
DAY 30: OUR NEXT STRETCH COMMISSIONED TO CONTINUE
PASTOR FELIX L. COLE
MATTHEW 28:18-20 (NIV)
Reflection:
This is the last day of The Stretch but not the last stretch God will call you to make.
Expanded Focus:
I was watching Black Panther again (yeah, go figure…you all knew that I had to use at least
one movie illustration), and the ending struck me. After all the internal battles and family
tension, T’Challa stands before the United Nations. Wakanda had enough resources to
stay hidden and comfortable. They could have kept everything inside and simply enjoyed
what they built. But T’Challa chooses something different. He declares that Wakanda will
no longer watch the world from the shadows. They will engage, invest, and help. What
they built was never meant to stay within Wakanda.
That is what Jesus does in Matthew 28. The disciples walked with Him, sacrificed with Him,
saw the cross, and celebrated the resurrection. If there was ever a time to rest, it was after
the empty tomb. But Jesus does not tell them to settle into what happened. He sends
them to reach. He says, Go and make disciples.
The resurrection was not a finish line. It was the launching point where Jesus gave the
disciples, and by extension us, authority to go, an assignment to fulfill, and assurance that
He would be with them. Authority means you are not relying on your own strength. An
assignment means purpose is ahead. Assurance means you are never sent alone.
BFB, this is the last day of The Stretch, but not the last stretch God will call you to make.
We’ve made it. We did it! This fast was God working in us so ministry could work through
us. The prayers we prayed were never meant to stay in our journals. The clarity we
received was never meant to sit in our minds. The discipline we built was never meant to
stop at day thirty.
We stretched so God could help us REACH. You may be tempted to ask,
