FINISH LINE

This is what the LORD says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.”  Isaiah 48:17 NIV

 

I just finished a book about an old man by a young author. In the afterword, the author said he not only wanted to finish as well as his subject did, but to prepare to finish well.

To prepare!

Ah, the wisdom of the young. I wish I’d had that foresight  years ago. But when I was young, I was a stranger to the God who gives wisdom to all who ask it of Him.

Finishing well has been on my mind a lot lately. The more life throws at me, the heavier that desire sits on me, and the more impossible it seems.

Scripture calls our lives a race. The flesh is weak, and grows weaker with the passage of time. The goal seems farther away than ever. This calls for wisdom, and for training.

I know I have to do my part, working every day toward the finish line. The goal is certain; the pathway sometimes shimmers like quicksand.

But our Guide, the One who makes a way in the wilderness, knows the path as well as the goal. He who gives the assignment and defines the goal will not let my foot be snared, but will lead me all the way. If I let Him work in me, He will finish all He’s given me to do. I have only to lean on Him as I put one foot in front of the other.

That is my preparation, all I need to do to finish well.

Avi, You can do all things. You have no need of our small efforts. But, like a father at his workbench, You let us stand at Your side and poke our clumsy fingers into Your projects. Guide my hands, Avi, and fix my mistakes. In Your holy name, Amen.