You have heard it said, “it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish!” George Mallory learned that lesson tragically. He is thought to have been the first to ever climb to the top of Mt. Everest. The problem is that he never made it down. Thus the honor of being the first person to ever successfully scale Everest officially belongs to Edmund Hillary, because he finished the trek and made it down safely. The principle applies spiritually as well. While Joshua broke the back of Canaanite resistance in his lifetime, the job was not done. Joshua 23:4-5 instructs the children of Israel to complete the task of removing the Canaanites from the land. The process begins well in Judges 1:1-26 but everything changes in verse 27. They failed to finish the job.
Paul, on the other hand, knew what it was to finish well. Second Timothy 4:7 says, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” What can we learn from his example that we may avoid walking in the shoes of the children of Israel?
• Stand firm. Paul had “fight the good fight” without compromise or surrender. We cannot allow time to whittle away at our resolve. Stay engaged with the enemy to the end!
• Keep running. Paul “finished the race” because he kept running. He kept his eye on the Savior (Heb. 12:1-3) and he kept himself in pristine spiritual shape (1 Cor. 9:27). We cannot finish if we allow ourselves to become spiritual couch potatoes.
• Do not squander. To “keep the faith” is to “guard” it. The word has to do with stewardship. The faith had been entrusted to Paul’s care and he guarded it well. So, too, must we faithfully discharge our responsibilities as stewards of the gospel (cf. 1 Cor. 4:1-2).
Too often do God’s children begin well but fail to finish. Time, trial, and temptation slowly wear down our resolve until the fire is extinguished and we drop our tools and walk away. Do not give up. Finish the job.