How many projects
have you started but never finished? If
you are like me, probably more than you care to think about. We have good intentions but often get
distracted or discouraged and do not finish things we start. We may run out of resources before we finish
what we are doing or run out of patience or the knowhow of how to proceed. Most people understand that failure to finish
is a part of life. I admire those who
know how to finish what they start and stick with it until it’s done. I have to admit that it’s not always the case
with me.
It takes a lot of
patience sometimes to finish a project you start. It’s especially true of a big project. Sometimes the task is bigger than we can
handle alone so we have to solicit the help of others. Most tasks take time as well as effort to
complete.
When we start out
walking with the Lord, finishing is better than starting. So many start out well, but never
finish. They may start out like a house
on fire, but soon the flames die out and all that is left is ashes. So many get preoccupied with life and other
interests and wander away from God. So
many of us fail to establish spiritual disciplines early in our walk of faith
and lose grip on what we had. We cannot
ignore Bible reading, prayer and Christian fellowship and make it with the
Lord. We cannot starve our souls of what
they need and expect to keep on living.
Life in Christ is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s not how we start out that matters, it’s
how we finish.
Jesus told us to
carefully count the cost of salvation before we start out because He knows how
easy it is for us to get distracted, discouraged and defeated. Staying connected with the Lord does cost us
a lot. It costs us our life goals and
dreams. It costs us the hold the world
has on us. It costs us giving Him
control of everyone and everything in life that we hold dear. It costs us sometimes great suffering and
even sometimes our lives. It costs us
our selfishness and often a good standing with the world. Salvation requires of us great patience and
perseverance as we journey through life.
Pride is one of our greatest
enemies. It is so hard to not pat
ourselves on the back for the things God has done in us and through us. It is something that we must constantly guard
our souls against and whenever it rears its ugly head, we must surrender it to
the Lord before it gets a foothold in us.
Don’t be a
quitter. Finish well what you have
started. Live moment-by-moment in
relationship with Christ and you will eternally be found in Him.
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