Jesus was a Finisher
John 4:34: “Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.’”

John 17:4: “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.”

God gave Jesus work. Not to merely try – but to accomplish. To finish.

“It is finished.” (John 19:30)

Let us watch Derek Redmond in Barcelona Olympics, 1992.

Inspirational! You may not be the best to cross over the line, you may not be the first to breast the tape. But keep getting up and keep straining forward. “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus”(Philippians 3:14).

He was trained, prepared and expected to win the olympics gold. But he tore his hamstring still continued the race limping. It was meaningless going on. He had no chance of wining. Others have gone past him. He was hopping in pain because his daddy was watching. People were trying to dissuade him. It did not matter to him what others were saying. The only thing that mattered was to finish.

His father came beside him. He continued in pain and in tears, leaning on his father, to finish the race. Others have finished already and he is not going to get the medal.

You may not come first, you may not be the best, you may not get the trophy, people may not honor you or appreciate your efforts. People may make fun of you, mock at you or even reject you. It does not matter. Because it is not about people. It is about you. It is about God, the Alpha and the Omega who knowns the end from the beginning. You are not defeated by what people say about you. You are defeated by what you believe about yourself.

Believe what the Word of God says about you.

Derek had every reason to quit the race, but he had not trained his mind that way. If you quit once, or twice, it kind of becomes a habit. You start finding reasons outside of you to quit. And end up living a life that is incomplete.

Until you follow through, until you finish, however mundane or routine the task may be, you will not respect yourself. Continue to fight on even if you have to limp. You may cry through the night “…weeping may last for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”(Psalm 30:5)

What is important is that you cross over and when you do, you would want to hear your master say, “well done, my good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21).

Remaining faithful with the task is equally important.

Paul was a finisher.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7)

You may lose lot of stuff. You may lose time and energy and money. But don’t lose faith.

“being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”(Philippians 1:6)

Father God, give us the grace to endure that we may finish the race and finish it well. Amen.

Video Source: YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZlXWp6vFdE