The God who gave you the grace to start will give you the grace to finish.
In boxing, your opponent can give you several kicks but one hefty well calculated kick can make all the difference and cause you to win the game. It’s called a Technical Knock Out (TKO). Most amateur boxers specialize in seizing chances to apply a TKO on their opponents. In any activity, it doesn’t matter how you start but what matter is how well you finish. It doesn’t take much effort to start things. Diet, school, family, body fitness, project…Starting is easy but finishing is what can be difficult.
Any personal can register a company, but establishing it to be a serious venture takes determination. You can decide to fast and pray for several days but successfully and faithfully completing your fast is what matters. Laying a foundation is not an achievement if you do not complete the project. Any young lady can have a baby but mothering it to an adult is work. Any two people can get married but sticking it out together takes commitment.
Anyone can have a dream; it takes perseverance to see it come to pass. The question is not will you start, but will you finish? Will you consistently work out and get that physique and weight that you wish? Will you finish that course? Will you be faithful in that engagement to the end? Will you finish paying that debt/loan? Will you complete your 21 days dry fast? Will you finish studying the bible? Will you finish reading that book?
People have setbacks in the course of their pursuits and give up along the way. They get discouraged and never accomplish their mission. God is called the author and finisher of our faith.
He’s not only given you the grace to start, He’s given you the grace to finish. He sees the end from the beginning and behind the scene He Has your great destiny at hand and His intention is to ensure you finish well. Remind yourself,’ I was not created to give up or quit but to finish and finish well.’ Be optimistic, embrace the right attitude, set your mindset to a flourishing finish and be consistent. Live forward in faith. God is breathing in your direction with finishing grace. You must tap into it. His grace is sufficient. You have the grace to finish. Don’t talk defeat, talk victory, and perceive yourself a champion. Stop telling yourself you won’t make it, reassure yourself that you are the best and will finish strong. God gave you the grace to start, and He’s giving you the grace to finish. Even in simple things. Even to finish that race, to finish that workout, even to finish cleaning and ironing those clothes. You will finish building that house.
You start cleaning your house and want to quit five minutes later. You started reading this book from chapter one and few pages to the ended you are getting tired. Did you start reading the bible in the beginning of the year targeting to read the whole of it and is now giving up? Your target was to work on your body shape and weight and now you are no longer consistent…Tap into this finishing grace. Be excited about the fact that the maker of the universe is in control.
Maybe you’re tempted to give up on a dream. The enemy doesn’t try to stop you from starting because there is no problem in that. He’s seen a lot of people start, even with much enthusiasm. But when you have a made-up mind and keep pushing forward, that’s when he’ll work overtime to try to keep you from finishing. He makes you fear, procrastinate, postpone, and shift your mind to other things. He brings distraction along the way.
The opposition is a sign you’re moving towards the goal. Progress gets his attention. He thought you’d give up after the first few difficulties. Instead you kept moving forward. Tapping into finishing grace.
When you should’ve been depressed you were smiling. Talking about how big your God is. When you didn’t see a way He made a way. The devil casts forces to hinder you when he realizes that you are determined and there is progress. You may be up against challenges now; it’s because of your progress.
He didn’t bring you this far to leave you, No. His intentions are to give you a great future and a hope.
In Philippians 1:6 the scriptures says that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. He will bring you to a flourishing finish. This happened to Joseph. As a teen he dreamed of ruling a nation. He started out great with a big dream and supportive family though the family members didn’t support his dream. His brothers were jealous and threw him in a pit to die, then decided to sell him into slavery. Joseph didn’t really do anything wrong but his world was turned upside down. Then he was put in prison for 13 years for something he didn’t do. Joseph knew he had the grace not just to start but to finish. He kept doing the right thing when the wrong thing was happening. His attitude never changed. He remained committed and his mind was set and he knew that regardless with his current situation his dream would come true.
When the devil busy thinking about your downfall, our God is behind the scene crafting on your great comeback and glorious finish. Pharaoh had a dream that Joseph interpreted and Joseph became ruler of Egypt. God has put something on you that will override people being against you. You cannot stay defeated. Life may push you down but God will push you back up. Situations may look impossible but God can do the impossible. When you have finishing grace all the forces of darkness cannot stop you. It’s just a detour on the way to your destiny. They may try to pull you down but this will be to catapult and thrust you to miles ahead just like the way you pull an arrow to release and throw it forward.
The enemy doesn’t fight people that are going the wrong way, actually he makes them feel comfortable in that situation and inspire them to stagnate there. He comes against people headed towards the fullness of their destiny. Keep moving forward despite the bad breaks. My assignment is too important to get discouraged. I am too inspired to give up and lose focus. I know who I am, to whom I belong and where I am going. Nothing can distract me no matter the barrier set before me. When you’re tempted to get discouraged and settle it’s because you’re close to breakthrough, and seeing your problem turn around.
Victory is on the way and the only sober option that you have is to thrive forward, if you have to fall then you better fall forward. Tap into finishing grace. You’ve come too far to stop now. It may be difficult but you have to put up finishing stamina. Looking at athletes, they put up massive finishing energy that by the time they close the line most of them collapse, get fatigue and others get muscle tremors. Their focus is not their current situation but a flourishing finish and they never allow any distraction whether it’s from their spectators or opponents.
You may hear negative voices say quit but remember that you’re closer to your destiny than you can imagine. You are in it to win it. Dare not be moved by the opposition. God began a good work in you and He will complete it. You better keep doing your best.
You’re one moment closer to coming in to your finish line. Deuteronomy 33:25 says as your days are, so shall your strength be. Your strength will always be equivalent to your need. Your strength will match what you’re up against. If your need is to finish strong then you will have equivalent strength.
When I was chased out of class in Bavuni Secondary school because I did not have school fees and was also too dull, I did not know what to do and the only option was to go to the streets of Nakuru.
In my mind there was worry and anxiety, but in my spirit there was God’s peace saying “I’ve got you in the palm of My hand.” For sure all the time I was out of school working in people’s farms, surviving in the streets I chose to never give up and now I can attest that the Presence of God was with me even in those dark moments and He was working behind the scenes on my favor.
There’s grace for every season. Though you may be going through a disappointing moment in life, it could be strength in reserve.
Sometimes in life we think how will I make it up that steep hill? How will I bring up these kids alone? How will I break this chain of addiction? How will I stop masturbation and fornication? How will I complete this project? God has some strength in reserve for you. There is a finishing grace inside of you, taking you where you can’t go on your own. The closer you get to your destiny the tougher the battles. Critics come out the woodwork. Naysayers committing on your case. You lose a loved one. A bad break. Your close friends turn against you. Your followers start a go slow. That challenge is a sign you are close to your destiny. God knows exactly where your path is leading. He knows every setback. His grace is sufficient. You’ll never come to a hill where you won’t have the strength to climb it. The greatest battles that we face are those related to our destiny and we have to fight a good warfare. Pursuing your destiny is a battle. God Has a master plan for your life and is working behind the scene on your destiny thus you must be determined to pursue it as there is finishing grace.
The apostle Paul faced some huge hills. He was sharing the Good News when he was arrested and put in jail. The closer he got to his destiny the more obstacles came. Paul wasn’t defeated and depressed. Nothing could stop him from sharing the gospel of Christ because his focus was not on the current tribulations but the crown of life.
He couldn’t speak publicly so he wrote letters. He wrote over half the New Testament from a prison cell. They thought they were stopping him but they amplified his voice. God will use the ones trying to hold you down to propel you forward.
As long as you stay in faith you will accomplish your assignment. Quit focusing on who’s against you.
If God doesn’t turn it around the way you thought, He may cause you to have great influence right in the midst of your enemies. No situation around you can cause God to change His plans over your life. No bad break can keep you from your destiny. At the end of his life Paul said I have finished my race – with joy. We all have things come against us. It’s easy to drag through life but there’s no victory in that. Determine to finish your course with joy and a good report. Thanking God for what you have and acknowledging His power, presence and grace.
Thousands of years ago in Greece there was a race called a torch race. At the start of the race they’d light the fire and runners would run with the torch. You could only win if you finished with your torch still lit. They had to protect their fire. It’s the same principle in the race of life. Guard your fire. Don’t let your flame go out.
Don’t lose your passion, and your enthusiasm. Don’t let your fire go out. God is not done with you and He will not let your fire to go off unless you make it happen. Shake off the disappointments and discouragement.
The scripture talks about how we have to fan the flame and stir up the gift. Not magnifying the problem but recognizing His Lordship and magnifying our God. We know no defeat, we know victory because we know our God.
Everyone likes watching a good movie, a story full of suspense, dilemmas, surprises and coincidences. Like any good movie, our lives are filled with twists and turns. There are seasons and situations that happen where it looks like nothing is going to work out. But, did you know God has already planned your final scene to end in victory? When you understand your end has been established, you won’t go through life discouraged because of a disappointment or bitter because of a loss. Let this inspirational message give you the biblical tools to face life with courage, hope and great faith, knowing that God can even use what seems to be a setback in our lives as a grand setup, an unexpected end. You may have had a rough start, but you’re not going to have a rough finish! And best of all, God promises in Philippians 1:6 that He will bring you to a flourishing finish!
We all will die. Will you die in faith? Decide to die full of joy with your fire still burning.
A Tanzanian runner fell and broke his leg during Olympic race but he finished his race.
Everyone else was gone but he kept going. The runner said he didn’t quit when he broke his leg because his country didn’t send him 7,000 miles to start the race but to finish it. The race is not for the swift or the strong but to those who endure to the end. You weren’t created to quit.
You have to dig your heels in and say I am determined to finish my course in Jesus name. Do not quit, do not dare give up!
As I conclude my insight, I would like to share about keeping the pace in life. A college class was graduating on a hot and humid day.
As the graduates walked across the platform and received their diplomas from the Chancellor of the institution, he smiled, shook their hands, and said loudly, “Congratulations!” Then, in a much lower voice, one that was firm and could be heard only by the graduates, he would say, “Keep moving.”
He was only trying to keep the line moving across the stage, but his words were good advice for a lifetime: “Keep moving.” After every achievement growing up, graduation, marriage, job promotion, even retirement the best advice is, “Keep moving. Don’t stop. Don’t stagnate.”
There is more to life than you have found thus far. This is not the end; it is only the beginning. “Keep moving.”
