By Shawn Blackmon
Starting is exciting. Finishing is different.
Think about how many times we have started something with great intentions. January comes, and suddenly we are eating better, exercising more and drinking water. We are committed. Then a few days pass, life happens, we get tired, and that commitment starts looking different.
Starting usually comes with excitement. People encourage you. Everything feels new. But somewhere between the starting line and the finish line, life happens. We get tired. We get disappointed. People leave. Plans change. Prayers do not get answered the way we expected.
Eventually, the question changes from, “Can I start?” to “Can I stay faithful long enough to finish?” The Apostle Paul knew something about finishing. Near the end of his life, after imprisonment, beatings, opposition, disappointment and even abandonment by people he trusted, Paul wrote: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith,” 2 Timothy 4:7.
Paul was not a young man standing at the starting line shouting, “Let’s go!” This was a seasoned believer standing near the finish line telling Timothy, “It was worth it.” And notice what Paul did not say. He did not brag about how many churches he planted. He did not mention how many people heard him preach. He did not talk about titles, recognition or accomplishments. At the end of his life, Paul measured success differently. I fought. I finished. I kept the faith.
What if we have been measuring success the wrong way? What if heaven is not nearly as impressed by what we accomplish as we are? What if God is more concerned with whether we remain faithful? Paul says his life was being “poured out like a drink offering.” In other words, he saw his entire life as something being offered to God. The truth is, all of us are pouring our lives into something. We pour ourselves into careers, families, money, success, relationships and pleasures.
The question is not whether you are pouring out your life. The question is: What are you pouring it into? A faithful finish begins with a life poured into something worth living for. Then Paul says, “I have fought the good fight.” Don’t miss the word fought. Paul never pretended following Jesus was easy. Faithfulness does not mean you never struggle. It does not mean you never get tired. It does not mean you never stumble. It does not even mean you never feel like quitting.
Faithfulness means the struggle did not make you quit. Being tired does not make you unfaithful. Going through a difficult season does not make you unfaithful. Having questions does not make you unfaithful. You may be exhausted. You may have cried. You may have fallen down. Get back up. Stay in the fight.
Then Paul says something else: “I have finished the race.” He does not say, “I won the race.” There is a difference. We spend too much time comparing our race to someone else’s. Their career seems further along. Their family looks better. Their ministry appears bigger. Their finances seem stronger. But God never called you to finish somebody else’s race.
Faithfulness is not beating somebody else to the finish line. It is completing the course God gave you. Run your race.
But Paul’s next statement may be the most powerful: “I have kept the faith.” After prison, I still believe. After the beatings, I still believe. After people walked away, I still believe. After prayers were not answered the way I wanted, I still believe.
That is the goal. Not simply finishing your career. Not simply raising your children. Not simply completing your ministry or making it to retirement. The real question is: When you get there, will you still believe?
There is a tremendous difference between saying, “I’m finished,” and declaring, “I finished.” One sounds defeated. The other sounds faithful. Paul finished, and he still had his faith.
So, wherever you are in your race today, keep going. When you are tired, keep going. When you are disappointed, keep going. When people celebrate you, keep going. When nobody notices you, keep going. When you do not understand what God is doing, keep going. Don’t spend your life trying to impress people with how fast you ran, how much you accomplished or how many people knew your name. Just make sure you finish. And when you finally reach the end, may your testimony be simple.
