“Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.” (Colossians 3:23, NLT)
When I made the decision to leave teaching, I turned in my resignation fairly early so those who needed to decide their next moves to replace me would have plenty of time to do so. My resignation was accepted, so did that let me off the hook in finishing well? After all, in a sense, I was already done. I suppose I could have skipped the last professional development, but I wanted to finish well as much as possible.
Whether we see the end in sight as in my teaching that year, or in the beginning stages of whatever you find yourself doing, it is important to work faithfully in whatever our task at hand is. I think when we apply this principle to our lives, we won’t live with as much regret. Does that mean we stress over perfection? No. As my pastor recommended to me, shoot for excellence – not perfection. When we strive and have our focus on perfection alone, we exhaust ourselves because there is always something else to be done – or, “be done better.” This I know full well! As a result, we may throw in the towel and not even strive at all…never finishing. Also, don’t forget to focus on the progress. This can be motivating in itself. I like to look around and see where I’m improving – and thank God for it because more than likely, I have asked Him to help me – and He did.
This is the same in our Christian walk. I don’t want to work my entire life on serving Christ only to quit at the end. With God’s help, I want to persevere. A song from my teenage years by Cory Hart says to “Never surrender!” Love that! Now, mind you, I do ask God to help me with this. I don’t just presume that I will always do what’s right. I plan to, and I hope I do, but I know that we must, “…watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!” (Matthew 26:41)
I pray that I will be an open vessel; that the Holy Spirit will be able to fill me, and flow into and out of me. [Inspired by The Book of Mysteries (given by my friend, Debbie), Day 1 by Jonathan Cahn, 2016.] I want my life to be a light to others. I don’t want to just get by. I want to live the abundant life and bring others with me as I go. I want to finish this race, and I want to finish well.
So, work diligently; allow yourself mercy; remember that perfection is in perspective; and only God is the one perfect someone…and then…not only finish…but, finish well.
Simply Celebrate With Jackie 