and he ran for 40 days

Kingdom Treasures from the Life of Elijah and My Personal Battle with ALS

In this 40-day devotional journal, Steve Allen shares his story of confronting adversity when he was diagnosed with ALS-Lou Gehrig’s disease, in the prime of his life at the age of 48. Given 2-5 years to live, Steve had to confront death face on and decide what was most important in life.Using the lens of the life of the prophet Elijah, who experienced tremendous spiritual victory on the mountaintop and then was almost crushed by the enemy’s threats; Steve follows Elijah’s journey to the mountain of God-Mount Sinai where he comes face-to-face with his Creator. Join me on this journey as we learn from these men what it means to overcome life’s adversities and receive your assignment – God’s destiny for your life!

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From a missionary and a mentor, from a father and a friend, from a builder and a brother, from a saint who has suffered, comes a forty-day feast of a lifetime of wisdom, the Word, and wonder. Fast for forty days and eat a meal a day with this bread from heaven and you will grow strong in spirit – or simply enjoy this daily manna when you walk with God in the cool of the Garden. Then like Steve Allen, a true Elijah father in this generation, you’ll hear the still small voice of God and receive a fresh commission from the Father.

Lou Engle
Visionary Co-founder of The Call
Author of The Jesus Fast

I have known Steve for ten years and I have seen up close how he is a loving husband, father, friend, and mentor. If there was one word that would describe Steve, it would be "integrity". Steve is one of the most upstanding men I have ever met and someone that I have placed the highest value on as a friend. I can assure you that you will find wisdom, encouragement, and hope as you read this book and you will discover God's voice speaking to you as Steve unpacks his journey with God and the "Life" he discovers as he walks with his best Friend.

Jeff Dollar
Senior Pastor Grace Center
Author of Letting Go of the Need to Be Right

When writing about Steve Allen, I will never be able to find the words to describe this amazing man of God. He is a living example of how to walk through a turbulent life situation, in his case the worst kind of medical diagnosis, and never lose step with Jesus. He is the Encourager of all encouragers, constantly speaking life from a place of not yet having seen the full victory, but confident of the outcome. Walk with him and be challenged to follow him as he follows Jesus.

Don Finto
Pastor Emeritus of Belmont Church and founder of the Caleb Company
Author of Your People Shall Be My People, God’s Promise and the Future of Israel, and The Handbook for the End Times

At freshmen college orientation, I “accidentally” came into contact with Steve Allen. By the Father’s gracious providence, he became my roommate that first year into my adulthood. More importantly, he became my friend. Since that time, Steve's life and friendship have spurred me to love Jesus like few others the Father has put into my path. And now I have watched with awe this most recent season as he has battled with courage and a never-wavering faith, a disease that is ravaging his physical body. If anyone has the authority to speak to us about running our race with the strength of the Lord when we feel weak, it is this man. I can’t encourage you enough to not merely purchase this book but to go on a 40-day journey with Steve. My almost four decades of friendship testify – you will come out much stronger on the other side.

David McQueen
Lead Pastor
Beltway Park Church, Abilene, TX

We tend to write about heroes once their grand feats have been accomplished. Steve is a true hero to me. Already outstanding in his life and personal history, his greatest feats have been his daily choices in the face of daunting and ongoing odds before which he refuses to bow. His internal devotion and holy, determined discipline have equipped him with the tenacity of an Olympic long-distance runner. If I’m looking for encouragement, I just listen to Steve. Regardless of the subject, Jesus and His ways will shine brightly, because in Him, Steve lives and moves and has his being. In Steve’s life we see made tangible that intangible substance called faith. Anyone looking for a true hero, read on.

Dave Fitzpatrick
Executive Director
The Institute for Cross-Cultural Affairs

Steve Allen’s 40-day devotional And He Ran for 40 Days is a must read, because it’s going to boost your faith to overcome! When I was reading it, I literally could not put it down, as I was so encouraged. Honestly, it is anointed. I was so inspired by Steve’s testimony of faith, despite his personal battle with ALS. He puts his trust in YESHUA THE HEALER by overcoming the giant Goliath like David did – speaking what God says to the mountain of impossibility to be cast out into the sea by praising and thanking Emmanuel. God who is with us and who fights our battles! He is a man of faith like the heroes of faith in the book of Hebrews; as an Abraham who believed in God and it was credited to him as righteousness, he received his promised son Isaac! Like Job the righteous man of God whose faith was tested and the test turned to testimony of his healing and redemption by the Redeemer Who Lives, Who brought Resurrection life to the Valley of dry bones and he received double for all his trouble! He is a Father to the Nations as an Elijah who is turning the hearts of children to the Heavenly Father, by the way he is running the race and not quitting but winning the PRIZE fixing his eyes on the Author and Finisher of our Faith, who will reward his faith and will not die but live and declare the glory of the LORD!

Samaa Habib
Author of Face to Face with Jesus

I am greatly encouraged by this devotional drawn from the lives of the prophet Elijah, and the man of God, Steve Allen, forged in the refining fires of adversity, tempered by God’s enduring love and faithfulness. I’ve only read about Elijah, but I know Steve personally and some of his battle against ALS. Never have I heard him complain or grumble through this challenge…my ears have only heard the high praises for the Most-High God come from his mouth. Steve is a real-life inspiration to me and many others, spurring us on to faithfully run our own races, and I highly recommend this 40-day devotional.

Hugh Nemets
Author of Dead Jew Walking: A Jewish Man’s Journey from Death to Life

Steve Allen’s 40-day devotional And He Ran for 40 Days is a must read, because it’s going to boost your faith to overcome! When I was reading it, I literally could not put it down, as I was so encouraged. Honestly, it is anointed. I was so inspired by Steve’s testimony of faith, despite his personal battle with ALS. He puts his trust in YESHUA THE HEALER by overcoming the giant Goliath like David did – speaking what God says to the mountain of impossibility to be cast out into the sea by praising and thanking Emmanuel. God who is with us and who fights our battles! He is a man of faith like the heroes of faith in the book of Hebrews; as an Abraham who believed in God and it was credited to him as righteousness, he received his promised son Isaac! Like Job the righteous man of God whose faith was tested and the test turned to testimony of his healing and redemption by the Redeemer Who Lives, Who brought Resurrection life to the Valley of dry bones and he received double for all his trouble! He is a Father to the Nations as an Elijah who is turning the hearts of children to the Heavenly Father, by the way he is running the race and not quitting but winning the PRIZE fixing his eyes on the Author and Finisher of our Faith, who will reward his faith and will not die but live and declare the glory of the LORD!

Samaa Habib
Author of Face to Face with Jesus

Through serving the Lord together 16 years in Thailand, Steve Allen became my closest friend and confidant. I have watched Steve battle ALS for the past five years and questioned why a man of God like Steve would suffer so intensely. As I devoured this book, I realized that the lessons he has learned are going to be life-giving to many who are in the midst of a fiery trial. They have been forged and purified in the fire, and they are of more value than pure gold!

Russ Pennington
Director Bethesda Outreach Center

About the author

Steve Allen

In this 40-day devotional journal, Steve Allen shares his story of confronting adversity when he was diagnosed with ALS-Lou Gehrig’s disease, in the prime of his life at the age of 48. Given 2-5 years to live, Steve had to confront death face on and decide what was most important in life. Using the lens of the life of the prophet Elijah, who experienced tremendous spiritual victory on the mountaintop and then was almost crushed by the enemy’s threats; Steve follows Elijah’s journey to the mountain of God-Mount Sinai where he comes face-to-face with his Creator. Join me on this journey as we learn from these men what it means to overcome life’s adversities and receive your assignment – God’s destiny for your life!

WALK WITH ME

INTRODUCTION

I lay on the hospital bed in the exam room staring up at the ceiling. It was August 31, 2015 and I was at Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. I had gone through a series of tests over a week and now was reaching the finish line. I would find out that day what my diagnosis and prognosis was going to be from the medical experts.

My left leg had slowly been losing strength over the previous year, and I had developed drop foot in my foot. I could no longer hold it up. The muscles had stopped responding. I lay there looking up at the ceiling, and spoke in my heart, “God, this would be a really good time to hear your audible voice.”

Silence.

A thousand thoughts raced through my mind. What was going to happen? How would this affect my wife, family, our ministry, and my future? After what seemed like an hour, the two doctors walked back in and said, “We conferred with another senior colleague and are sorry to say that we believe from the testing that you have ALS – Atmyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.”

I asked, “What is the prognosis?”

“There is no treatment available at this time,” the doctor responded. “Life expectancy is 3-5 years.”

This was not what I had expected for my life, my dreams and calling, my destiny. Over the next week I shared the news with my wife, family, and close friends. I pressed into the Lord. What was God saying in the midst of this?

I am with you.

I will never forsake you.

I will fortify and strengthen you.

Trust me.

Throughout those early days, I felt His Shalom, His peace. I felt His presence and His kindness. I did not spend much time asking why. I took hold of the Word, the Living Word, meditating, memorizing, and praying it. I spoke out loud the Word throughout the day. It sustained me and gave me great hope. The Written Word led me to the Living Word. The Living Word is Jesus. He is my hope. My anchor. My life and my next breath.

~~~~

Let me take you back to the summer before my diagnosis. In July of 2014, I helped to lead a summer ministry training school with Caleb Company, the ministry with which I was working. In preparation to go to Israel, we spent one month in the States studying God’s heart for Israel, taking hold of His plan for us in our identity and destiny, and then pressing into Him through daily prayer and worship.

The day after our arrival into Israel, the Gaza War broke out and we came face to face with the stark reality that Israelis face every day; they are surrounded by their enemies. During the thirty days we were in the land, we experienced three air raids and a car exploding into flames by the hands of a radical war protestor a few hundred feet from where our team was standing.

However, we also experienced some amazing ministry opportunities. We were able to take food to single, immigrant, Russian Jewish mothers and their children in the city of Ashdod, only 26 miles from where rockets were being shot out of Gaza on a daily basis. We met and prayed with Holocaust survivors and shared our faith with two Jewish orthodox women in a Jerusalem park.

Jerusalem is a city of hills and, when in the city, you do a great deal of walking. I started to notice that my left foot was growing heavy. It felt like lead as I walked the pathways of the narrow city streets. I did not think much of it until we left Israel. Our airline canceled all of their flights out of Tel Aviv just one day before we were to fly out due to the missile attacks that were getting closer and closer to the airport. One of our staff members spent two hours on the phone scrambling to get our team of over 20 students and staff on different flights back to the States.

I was part of the team that ended up flying through Toronto, Canada. As we arrived late, we sprinted down a concourse trying to make our connecting flight. I was running down one of the moving sidewalks, a heavy backpack on my back, when the toe of my left sandal caught the lip of the end of the sidewalk and I went sprawling. I ended up on my face, dazed and looking down; I found I had bloodied my left knee. Shocked and befuddled, I knew something was amiss; this was not normal.

We finally made it back home to Nashville and I started treatment with a chiropractor and a muscle therapist. Five months later there was no improvement and I began to wonder if there was something more serious and sobering going on. Something I was not expecting…

~~~~

After Elijah had experienced an incredible victory over the enemies of God on top of Mount Carmel, he got down on his hands and knees and prayed through until the breakthrough. He saw, through his servant’s eyes, appearing on the horizon, a single rain cloud. He knew in his heart that after three and a half years of drought, the rains were coming. Elijah then tucked in his robe and ran to the capital of Samaria, outrunning King Ahab and his chariot of horses.

The title of this 40-day devotional journal is And He Ran For 40 Days.

It does not state this implicitly in the text of 1 Kings. The Scripture uses the word “traveled”. I chose this title because I am a runner. Elijah was a runner too. He outran King Ahab’s chariot to the city of Jezreel. I grew up running with my father in my high school years. I can remember distinctly running the Peachtree 10K with my dad and 25,000 other people the summer of 1979. I ran in college and immensely enjoyed the time talking to the Lord on those quiet runs.

When we went to the mission field in Thailand, I joined a Thai jogging club in our neighborhood. Over the next ten years, I took my two oldest sons to run with me to a number of 10Ks around the capital city of Bangkok. There’s something about running that cultivates time and space to commune with our Heavenly Father. After a few miles, the body starts to relax, and your legs fall into a natural rhythm. The mind opens up to rich contemplative prayer and hearing His voice. One of my life verses is out of the Psalms:

I run in the path of your commands for you set my heart free!

Psalm 119:32 (NIV, 1984)

With the onslaught of ALS, I’ve not been able to run for the last five years. This title is a declaration of hope and faith for me. A prophetic statement that I will run again.

Steve Allen
October 1, 2019
Colorado Springs, Colorado