When finishing means it’s just the beginning!
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“…he said, ‘It is finished!’
Then he bowed his head and released his spirit.” (John 19:30)
Often, finishing is just the beginning. Look what we gained because Jesus said, “It is finished.” Salvation. Hope. The Holy Spirit. Coming boldly to the throne. Life more abundant. And the list goes on, but you get the idea. Often, finishing brings a new found freedom. Why? Because, we are moving forward. No matter what we are finished with, it brings a new season. A new season equals new opportunities…new opportunities to live better, live more abundant, set new goals, dot, dot, dot.
The struggle to finish my classes was real. I would have quit and probably not felt that bad about it. But I would have missed out on the reward of the finish – the celebration – the excitement – the encouragement about my writing – the inspiration for this book. The game changer for me was resolve. After the struggle of going back and forth, I finally, after much prayer, resolved to finish.
We see Jesus struggling in the Garden of Gethsemane with his finish, but he was resolved, “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” (Luke 22:42, NLT) We have that same power. “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.” (Romans 8:11, NLT) He wants us to make it as much as we want to, so He is not going to leave us high and dry. “…For God has said, ‘I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.’” (Hebrews 13:5) Soak that in for just a minute. He won’t leave us. He won’t abandon us. We are in this together. He will take your hand and march with you up that hill all the way home.
If we enter a race, our goal is to finish. We may stumble, and we may fall, but the goal is still to finish. Resolve to finish.
Simply Celebrate With Jackie 