Pastor's Corner: Finish strong

In 2nd Timothy 4:7, Paul said, ”I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." Paul had faced many troubles and trials, and now the time of his departure had come. It was time to lift anchor and set sail to be with the Lord. He had fought a good fight and he finished his course strong. He had given his all in the word of the Lord.

Don’t quit, finish strong. The Bible says there will be a departure from the faith in the last days. We are on the final lap, finish strong. Galatians 5:7 says, ”You did run well, who hindered you that you should not obey the truth?" Who or what is slowing you down? Finish strong!

The Christian race is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. Ecclesiastes. 9:11 says, "The race is not to the swift.” It’s easy to start, but it’s another thing to finish strong. For Paul, to finish strong meant not allowing the past to destroy his future. Paul forgot those things that were behind him, and he pressed forward. Forgetting is not amnesia; it’s trusting in God’s forgiveness. Olympic champion Jesse Owens once said, “There’s something that happens to all of us, the instinct to slack off to give into the pain. He said, you have to go to the limit and past your limit.”

Finish strong! You must persevere as you run this Christian race. The race is filled with many obstacles but we must determine that we will finish our race strong. Winston Churchill said, “Never give up, never give up, never, never, never.” Finish strong and run your race with patience.

If you can’t see Heaven’s finish line then you are too occupied with this world. The closer you get to God, the smaller everything else appears. Finish strong and run this race in faith. In 1972, at the Olympics in Munich, Dave Wottle started slow in the 800 meters but he finished strong as he crossed the finish line in first place. Galatians 6:9 reminds us, “Let us not be weary in well doing for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. Don’t quit, finish your race strong and one day God will say well done My faithful servant.”

Finish strong!