Have The Determination To Finish

...I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith (2 Timothy 4:7).

Did you ever see an athlete who sprinted off the blocks in a race but then sustained muscle cramps or tired out midway into the race? Though he was ahead of the others at the start, he didn't get the medal because he didn't finish the race. That's the way some people are in life. They may have started out with great enthusiasm and excitement in carrying out the responsibilities committed to them but they don't finish well- they burn out along the way.

When  a responsibility is committed to you, ensure you put your best into it and discipline yourself to finish it well and strong. No matter how well you take off on a task, you must have a strong determination for an excellent finish. The Bible says the end of a matter is better than the beginning (Ecclesiastes 7:8). So it's not all about starting out a project, a journey or an endeavour; there must also be the determination to finish well and finish strong.

The Apostle Paul, at the twilight of his life declared with confidence, "...I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith "(2 Timothy 4:7). He was determined from the outset to accomplish that which God called him to do, recognizing no obstacles. His determination was to glorify God by fulfilling his ministry with excellence. In Phillipians 3:13, he said, "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before." Even though he was already doing well in his assignment, his goal was an excellent finish.

At your work place, be the one who can be depended upon to see a project through to an excellent end. Don't be that person who always starts things out but never completes them. Choose to be different. Have the determination for an excellent finish. Stick with the task at hand until it's excellently accomplished.

PRAYER

Dear Lord, I thank you that I have the grace, ability and discipline to stick with the accomplish the tasks that you have for me today! By the power of the Holy Spirit that's at work in me, I will bring these tasks to an excellent finish, in the Name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.

Rhapsody of Realities   May 17, 2011

-Pastor Chris Oyakhilome