But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God

Acts 20:24

What was Asa’s failure that led him to finish poorly? Somewhere along the way, King Asa lost sight of the LORD and was content with his own strengths even when his lack of dependence on God was his greatest weakness.

Once confronted by Christ on the road to Damascus, Paul’s outlook on life provides a great contrast. He wasn’t content to just survive until the end, he intended to thrive.

When Paul wrote of his race he wasn’t bent over gasping for air or crawling toward the finish line. He wrote to Timothy saying, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).

Faithfulness is included in the list of fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22 and it is worth the time to consider the “stick-to-it-ive-ness” of Paul’s life.

• Paul confidently followed Christ. He encouraged the Corinthians to “be imitators of me, as I am of Christ”(1 Corinthians 11:1).
• Paul lived with purpose. “I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:26-27).
• Paul kept his eyes focused on the goal. “But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3: 13-14).

Are you determined to finish strong?