| “I make no account of my life as dear to myself, so that I finish my course” (Acts 20:24 JND). |
| “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course” (2 Timothy 4:7). |
| Back in the 1500’s there was an English sea captain named Sir Francis Drake. He was a God-fearing man and might even have been a Christian. He used to pray a prayer like this — “O Lord God, when Thou givest to thy servants to endeavor any great matter, give us also to know, that it is not the beginning, but the continuing of the same until it be thoroughly finished, that yieldeth the true glory.” It was a good prayer, for it focuses on the importance of persistence in whatever we may be called to do. Of course, if we find that we are doing something wrong, it is good to stop it at once, but if we are doing something the Lord has given us to do, it is important to “follow through” and finish it. |
| In the world around us today, it is rather common for jobs to be left unfinished, and for people to attempt something, only to find it rather hard, and then quit. Students may start out to study a course, then decide that they do not like it, and switch to something else. I have seen this happen several times over in the life of one person. |
| It can be a difficulty in our Christian life too. A man named Demas started out well, but then the Apostle Paul had to say, “Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world” (2 Timothy 4:10). Paul tells Timothy that he (Paul) had “fought a good fight,” and in Hebrews 12:1 we are told to “run with patience the race that is set before us.” The word for “fight” and the word for “race” in the Greek language are the same. |
| The motto of David Livingstone was, “I determined never to stop until I had come to the end and achieved my purpose.” It is only with the Lord’s help that we can finish the race, and finish our course. But the Lord is willing to help us, and it is good to develop this attitude of determination and persistence, so that we finish what we are given to do. |
