Finish Well

BIBLE READING:  Col. 1: 3 - 5  3 We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God's people, 5 which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News.

BLOG:  Each of us has unfinished projects waiting for our return.  Cleaning the garage, writing a book or completing a degree could be among them.  There are a few things that lead us to set something aside.

A crisis.  Something desperately needs our attention right now.  Because we cannot create time or save it like money - we have to reallocate time we have to address the need.

Change of heart.  We get bored or discouraged.  Because we forget our "why," we stop spending time and energy.

More often than not, these are the culprits that derail our dreams.

Procrastination - Putting something off indicates that you are afraid of something.  Out of everything that you could have delayed, why that particular project?  We put off what we are fearful of.

Exhaustion - We can push ourselves so hard that we can become emotionally and/or physically exhausted.  You have to pace yourself.

Insecurity - As we get towards the end of a particular project or event, we question how things will end.  You cannot be afraid of failure.  Every successful person will tell you.  Fail, fail often, and fail forward.  Learn from your failures and try again. Don't give up.

In the book of Philemon, Paul speaks of a young mentoree of his named Demas.  We don't know much about him, but Paul saw great potential in this young man.

But in 2 Timothy 4:10, Paul wrote, For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.   We don't know what happened to Demas, but he didn't finish well.

How to finish well.

Prepare your body.  Get rest.  You will be surprised how this impacts your mental and physical ability to finish well. Don't sacrifice your body on the altar of success.

Prepare your mind.  Quite your mind each morning and ask yourself.  Why am I doing this? Don't forget why - it prevents you from burning out.  It also helps you to keep the focus on the main thing. Don't let others distract you.

Prepare your spirit.  Spend time in prayer and the Word.  Pour your heart out to God, and He is listening.

PRAY:  Dear Jesus, Help me to finish well today.  AMEN