Finishing Well…By Charles C Elliott

At the middle point of this year, I’m fixing my eyes on the end of the year, and beyond that the culmination of this whole thing that we are involved in, called life and the grand finale which is eternity… the culmination of all that we’re training for now!

Whatever has happened in the past, the offenses, the disappointments, the hurts, or the injustices, we can begin again here, right now, today, to take the steps we need to take, and get back on track to finishing well!

A young teacher of the earth science class was lecturing on map reading. After explaining about latitude, longitude, degrees and minutes the teacher asked one of his students, ….. "Dennis, Suppose I asked you to meet me for lunch at 23 degrees, 4 minutes north latitude and 45 degrees, 15 minutes east longitude, where would we be eating... ?"
After a confused silence, Dennis scratched his head and said to the teacher...."I’m sorry, teacher, but according to my calculations, I think you’ll be eating alone." Sometimes we can have a great start, but a poor finish. When you’re traveling, you make the best preparations possible, but if you take the wrong turn, you won’t arrive where you planned to finish your journey.
1 Timothy 4:5 “But as for you, watch in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of your ministry. 4:6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. 4:7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” What is a “Good fight”?…. We may have many answers, but what Paul is talking about, is that we often fail to discern who we should really be fighting…. We fight our spouse, our kids, our parents, our boss, the folks that may offend, hurt or disappointment us….but fail to understand that Satan is the real enemy we should be warring against. He is the one behind the strife, injustice, and fears that may compel us.

James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you”.

1Peter 5:6 “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: v7 Casting all your care upon him; for He cares for you. v8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour: v9 Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world”.
Often, we focus on a good start, our prayers are often about beginning a thing, but God has promised to anoint us and continue to develop and enlarge us, so we can be good finishers! Jesus is the Christ (Christos.. means the anointed One and His anointed) Jesus is anointed as the author and the finisher, a good beginning and a good ending so that we can see God ordained outcomes in our lives! We can all tap into that anointing of the anointed one, not only to begin well, but be anointed finishers! Matthew 24:13 “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved (Sode-zo….to be loaded with healing, preservation, wholeness and wellness, lacking in nothing)”. I like that, not only to be healed, but to be “loaded” with healing wholeness, wellness and sufficiency!

The key to finishing well, is living well….When entering into a Marathon race, there is a goal that is set in the runners mind well in advance of the actual race. The preparation, exercise, and sacrifice will all pay off and make the difference in the outcome, if the runner is willing to sacrifice and discipline himself to attain it. The proper diet, the type of running shoes to wear, and good coaching are all part of the strategy of a successful runner. The main goal for the runners, is running their best race, and “Crossing-the-finish-line.”

The enemy tries every way possible to distract us as we move forward, (always forward) towards the finish line.

So, conditioning is vitally important… not only physically but mentally as well. We must be prepared for fatigue to hit our bodies, for doubt and confusion to attack our minds and cause our thoughts to betray us… and disorientation can set in, so we forget what the race is really all about.

Our mental conditioning comes by the word of God and staying in fellowship with others who are God chasers, so we challenge and inspire one another, and we thrive, even when weariness and fatigue sets in! God’s word is “A light unto our path’….•The entrance to heaven, and a clear view of the finish line…..•It’s A guide in our youth, Bringing balance and perspective…. •It’s Comfort in our older years….•Food for our deepest hunger….•Water for our deepest thirst…..•Rest for our weariness….. •Hope for every believer…. •Salvation for the sinner…..•And Grace and mercy for the journey…

It is vitally important to Hold it.. Study it.. Meditate on it.. Understand it…..speak it …. And walk it out in our daily lives!

Sally Berger says…" The secret to finishing well is getting started in the right direction."

B.G. Jett….”If the word “quit” is part of your vocabulary, then the word “finish” probably isn’t”.

Louis La'Amour….”There will come a time when you believe everything is over and done, but it will actually be the beginning of something else”.

Joseph Joubert …”Genius and creativity may be responsible for great ideas, but it is hard work and dedication that brings them to completion”.

Greg Anderson….“Focus on the journey, not just the destination. The real Joy is found not only in finishing but in doing it well.”

A mosquito returned home after flying for the very first time. His mom asked him "How do you feel, after your first flying experience?

He replied "It was wonderful, mom everywhere I went, everyone I saw, was clapping for me!"

Now that's a mosquito with a Positive Attitude and it might work well in a self-help manual, but if the mosquito doesn’t watch out, and gets caught up too much in all the clapping, it won’t last very long! The same applies to us, if we get too caught up with the applause and forget why we’re in this race in the first place, we will lose our direction and our purpose!

To keep things in perspective, I often think of the donkey that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on, in the Palm Sunday story, ….Wouldn’t it be foolish for the donkey to think that everyone was clapping for him, instead of the one who alone, is worthy of all the praise!!!

In a certain cemetery there was a tombstone which had on it these words …. “you can have a good beginning, and for sure the end will come, but what really matters is with the dash, what have you done?” This was followed by the birth date, a dash and their date of death.

So the question for all of us is “What are we doing today to build things that will last forever? I think of an old adage, "Only one life, will soon be past, only what's done for Christ will last"...Things come and things go, but memories and people are forever....If we truly believe in heaven and hell, we cannot take that lightly….

Philippians 2:15 “Be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse world, among whom you shall shine as lights in the world; 2:16 Holding forth the word of life; that we may rejoice in the day of Christ, that we have not run in vain, neither labored in vain”.

I’ve mentioned that as a boy, growing up on the farm, my dad would plow with a horse drawn plow as he broke up the soil for planting every spring. For years I watched and followed along, and one incredible day, he handed me the reins and let me plow for the first time! I’ll never forget his instructions… He said, don’t look at where you’re plowing, but pick a spot across the field where you want to finish, and don’t take your eyes off of it, if you do this, your rows will be straight and true.

When you’re clear about where the finish line is and how you want to finish, it goes a long way in causing what you’re doing right now, to come out right, and assures that you become the best person you can become while you’re getting there!

Don’t let the many distractions along the way pull you away from the goal that is before you…(speaking of distractions) I came across this true story out of San Francisco... A man, went into the Bank of America, to rob it. After walking into the bank, he wrote a note that said "dis iz a stikkup. Pud all yo muny in dis bag”. While standing in line, waiting to give his note to the teller, he began to worry that someone had seen him write the note and might call the police before he could give it to the teller.

So he left the Bank of America and crossed the street to Wells Fargo. After waiting a few minutes in line, he handed his note to the Wells Fargo teller. She read it and from all his spelling errors she concluded that he wasn't the brightest light in the harbor, and she told him that she could not accept his stickup note because it was written on a Bank of America deposit slip and that he would either have to fill out a Wells Fargo deposit slip or go back to Bank of America. This caused him a bit of confusion, and the man said, "OK" thank you, and he left.

He was arrested a few minutes later, as he was waiting in line back at Bank of America. (it’s easy to get distracted from your purpose, if you aren’t focused on your plan…) Celine Dion is a global superstar, Her 1990 album ‘Unison’, brought her to the world’s attention, but her beginnings were very humble. She was the youngest of 14 children born to poor French parents and her earliest dream was to be a famous singer.

It was at a Michael Jackson concert, she decided she wanted to be a star like him. So, she changed her image and had cosmetic and dental surgery. She also had English lessons to overcome her French accent in order to sing songs in English. You don’t need me to tell you that she has fulfilled her dream and she helped other people realize their dreams as well.

Hold tight to your dream, treasure it…. It’s your beacon to the future and it will help you fit everything in the right order of priority in your life! (Let me share one more)….

Randy Rausch, was Professor of Computer Science at Carnegie-Mellon University, and he developed “Alice”. “Alice” was a computer software program, used to create 3D animations and movies for Walt Disney, when Disney was beginning Disney Productions. His last lecture was entitled “How to Achieve Your Childhood Dreams” and it was watched by millions of people. I want to read an excerpt from that speech, he said….

“Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want a thing, because the brick walls are there to stop all those who don’t want it badly enough. It’s not about how you achieve your dreams but how you live your life. If you live your life the right way, the good things will take care of themselves. The dreams will come to you. Most of us have childhood dreams, but sadly, most people don’t achieve theirs, and I think that’s a shame. I had several specific childhood dreams, and I’ve actually achieved most of them. But I feel that my most important life time achievement, is that I have helped many others to actually achieve their childhood dreams” Joseph, in the bible cherished and nurtured his dreams and they became the magnet which attracted all the things in his life as he lived his life with purpose and a commitment to finish well!

He was able to say.. “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for Good”

When David faced Goliath, it was his firm grasp on what God had revealed as His plan for him, that formed David’s dream for the future, that let him say with confidence…. 1Samuel 17:46 “This day will the LORD deliver you into my hand, and I will smite you, and take your head from you and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel”!

When it comes to God’s character, and His unchanging nature, and His words of eternal truth and steadfastness… His performance in my yesterday becomes the guarantee in my today, no matter what it looks like right now, it is the assurance I need for all my tomorrows!

The God given dream that is in your heart, is a magnet which will attract what you need in order to fulfill it, as you are faithful to it. Deuteronomy 28:2 “And all the blessings of the Lord, shall run after you, overtake you, and come on you if you will be faithful unto the voice of the LORD your God”.

The things you need, the things necessary to fulfill the dream, are chasing you down, looking for you, trying to find you….so you can finish well!!!!

I declare that there is an anointing of peace, joy and contentment on my life. God is going before me to make the crooked places straight. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. I will not be continually struggling. What used to be difficult, will not be difficult anymore.

God’s favor and blessings on my life, is lightening the load and taking the pressure off. I declare that I will put actions behind my faith. I will not be passive or indifferent. I will demonstrate my faith by taking bold steps to move toward what God has put in my heart.

My faith will not be hidden, it will be seen. I know that God will show up and do amazing things. Life is a gift, I treasure it; Life is an adventure, I explore it; Life is a Lesson, I am learning from it; Life is a puzzle, I am solving it; Life is exciting and fulfilling; I’m enjoying it; Life is a struggle, I’m facing it; Life is beautiful, I’m embracing it; Life is an opportunity, I’m taking it; Life is a gift, I’m unwrapping it.

Today is an incredible day. Success, prosperity and abundance in many forms and ways are finding their way into my life today. I gratefully enjoy their manifestations throughout this day and happily share their blessings with many others in order that they may also rejoice as they enjoy their benefits as well.

“I am happy, I am wealthy, I am secure, I am positive, I am blessed, I am grateful, I am God’s amazing creation, I am confident, I am courageous, I am worthy, and I am excited about God’s presence and His will being done in my life through Christ Jesus my Lord. PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME!!!