Keep Going Until You FINISH the Work

"Then Jesus explained: "My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work."
John 4:34

A dear friend of mine forwards the devotions from Pastor Greg Laurie, and last week, one theme really caught my eye. Pastor Greg was talking about its not as important as how you start but that you FINISH that counts, and that is all so true in our spiritual lives as well as our physical lives. He quoted G. K. Chesterton who said, "Christianity has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and not tried." If someone says they have tried Christianity and it didn't work for them, it is because they never had a true encounter with the living God. I agree with Pastor Greg and believe any person who has really met Jesus Christ will continue to grow spiritually. It may not always be easy, but we are called to FINISH our work, and that is what we should all purpose to do each and every day.

Many of you know that I run with TEAM 413, a National Marathon training ministry that helps people learn how to walk and run and FINISH their designated races, while wearing our theme verse on our backs from Philippians 4:13. Our Spring team is getting ready to start up again at Grace Harbor Church in Tustin, and I am always excited to see who comes out for the first few training runs. Many newbies who want to complete this life goal and are excited about the opportunity. I also watch over the weeks and months to see who keeps at the endurance pace and who I see cross those finish lines at the end. Some start strong and walk away due to time restraints and personal limitations. Some have feeble beginnings, but a strong finish. Some just show up and put one foot in front of the other til they get to the end, and that glorifies God so much when we focus on the prize, when we focus on finishing what has been assigned to us. Some are asked to reach millions, others are asked to reach one, but we ALL win when we finish what God has given to us to do! Jesus said in the verse above for our meditation today, His nourishment came from doing God’s will and FINISHING the work that was assigned to Him. Our prayer should be for God to 1) show us what He has given us to finish, and then 2) strengthen us to go the distance and FINISH our races of life!

Sometimes people start off with great enthusiasm and don't finish what they have begun. And sometimes people start off weak, but they get stronger with the passing of time. We see this in the life of Nicodemus, who was a religious leader and well established citizen in Jesus' day. John 3 tells us that he secretly came to Jesus at night, asking questions. Jesus didn’t dismiss his need for privacy, the Lord spoke directly to his heart and addressed his concerns. We don't know whether he believed at that point in the shadows of the night but when Jesus was crucified, it was Nicodemus who boldly stepped forward, along with Joseph of Arimathea, to claim the body of Jesus, it was this Pharisee who may have questioned at the beginning but who ultimately believed and responded and provided for Jesus at the end. The point is that Nicodemus ended well.

What has God placed before you to finish in this life? I encourage you to keep running, keep walking, keep praying, keep serving, keep loving, keep reaching for those in your life who are lost, keep on the path of God’s Will for your life and celebrate those victories that we are privileged to share with our Heavenly Father until HE calls you home, brothers and sisters. Keep going until you FINISH the work!

Shalom, sister Lahoma

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