The Overwhelmed ChallengeSample

Finishing Well I don’t know about you, but I want to finish well. The fact is that people don’t remember how you started—but they do remember how you finish. Take for example my beloved Clemson Tigers. In football they set a blazing trail and at one point were 7-1 and ranked No. 10 in the nation, but they ended up going 8-5 and were highly criticized by the fans and the media. NO ONE was speaking ill of them when they were kicking butt—but because they didn’t finish well the beginning of the season was forgotten. (By the way, I am STILL a HUGE Clemson fan. Always have, always will be—go Tigers!) I believe that I have YEARS ahead of me; in fact, I think my best years are still ahead. And so, my passion is to finish well. I seriously want to pastor NewSpring Church for the rest of my life, write books that offer hope to people, encourage pastors and leaders, proclaim the name of JESUS and impact the world. However, I am not the only person who has had dreams like this. I am encouraged by the words of the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 4:6-7, and every time I read those words I pray out loud, “I WANT THAT!!!” And not only do I want it for me, I want it for everyone I know! It should be the desire of all our hearts to finish well — you know, to live such a godly life that the pastor doesn’t have to lie about you at your funeral!!! My prayer for you today is that you will focus on Jesus to get you through whatever challenges you’re facing and believe that your best days are ahead of you.