Getting Started
II Timothy 4:7 reads: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.”
As we come to the end of the course, some of us have struggled with the work, and we feel like we have been in a fight. A fight to succeed against failure. But, when this workshop is over, you have finished this race, not the total program and you have more races to run, but you have succeeded in one step if you completed and passed the course.
Well, that is very much like our lives. Every day, every week, all the time, we are in a race or that fight against failure. If we put forth the effort, we can say that I have fought the good fight or in other words, I have given it my all; I have finished the race. That doesn’t say I have won it, but I have finished. But most important, I have remained faithful. Faithful to myself, my family, my job, my work, and my God.
The one thing that coaches always tell their players in any sport is to finish well. That is true in every course, in school, in work, and in life. IF you finish well, you can say, I have given it my everything (I have fought a good fight); I have run the race (I did it all -the whole thing) and I remained faithful (I have not lost my convictions, my integrity, my drive, my commitment, my faith etc.)
Read the following Scriptures and think about each of them and what finish means in the context of each: When finished reading these, please reflect on them in at least two to three paragraphs noting the different takes on what finishing means in each and yet how each is related. What do you think is important about each? Let God speak to you through His Word on these passages and share what He says to you about finishing.
John 4:34: “Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me and from FINISHING his work.” (NLT)
Acts 20:22b-24″: Paul speaking “I don’t know what awaits me except the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead… But my life is worth nothing unless I use it for FINISHING the work assigned to me by the Lord Jesus…” (NLT)
II Corinthians 8:11: “Now you should FINISH what you started. Let the eagerness you showed in the beginning be matched now by your giving. Give in proportion to what you have.” (NLT)
James 1:4: “Perseverance must FINISH its work so you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (NIC)
So, our challenge to you is FINISH WELL! Finish this course well, finish this program well but above everything else, when you come to the end, finish life well because you have trusted Christ alone for salvation and that is what it is all about. God bless you as you “run the race”.
TASK
Read the Scriptures given above and think about each of them and what finish means in the context of each.
After reading these, please reflect on them in at least two to three paragraphs noting the different takes on what finishing means in each and yet how each is related. What do you think is important about each? Let God speak to you through His Word on these passages and share what He says to you about finishing.
Your devotional response should be a minimum of 200 words. Please check for grammatical mistakes before submitting your response.
