2 Timothy 4:6-7 “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

Toward the end of Paul’s life he encouraged Timothy to “discharge the duties” of his ministry to not give up and to keep serving God. Paul didn’t just talk about what to do he lived it, he ran the race all the way to the finish because he was:

• FAMILIAR

Following Jesus means that we will become familiar with our commanders voice. Studying Jesus is best done in the context of spending time with Jesus so that we become familiar with, His Word and what He has to say. His ways and how the Lord wants us to live.  His workers, as a good soldier fighting the good fight we are called to lookout and care for our fellow soldiers who serve. When was the last time that you worked for the welfare of others? His war and the weapons He want us to use to wage it, Faith and prayer. Are you familiar with the tactics of the enemy, are you familiar with God’s armor?

• FIGHTS

Finishing well means that we will not retreat in the face of our enemies. Today we concede because we have no conviction, our primary concern is for comfort not Christ. We give ground over Godly issues and fight over the trivial while ignoring the terrible. Paul understood what he was fighting for and didn’t lose sight of the destination. Finishing well doesn’t just happen we have to be dedicated, determined and driven to finish.

• FOLLOW THROUGH

We have to walk the talk, Paul didn’t just preach principles he practiced them. The greatest words in the bible are “It is FINISHED” but that required Jesus to follow through with God’s plan. Today we want the feeling of being finished without the follow through. Follow through involves submitting self to the Savior and following Him all the way. Jesus didn’t just follow God into the garden he followed through to the grave. It comes down to commitment and who we are really sold out for, self or the Savior? Today we have grown callused to commitment, craving the casual and careless instead. We prefer the freedom to fooling around more than the commitment to follow through. Yet you can’t practice procrastination and expect to profit, there is no substitute for sustained step by step follow through. Hebrews 12:1 tells us “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.“ In the word perseverance, there is the picture of battling through, of fighting the urge to quit. Instead of taking the easy path we are called to persevere, to endure and yet to enjoy. The Christian life is not a walk in the park, often it makes our physical life harder, but it will provide the ability for you to be more joyful in the midst of whatever is going on in your life. There is coming a day when we will receive a reward for the race, God records every good deed, oh to hear His words “well done my good & faithful servant.”

• FOCUSED

If we are going to finish well it is imperative that we keep our focus. Maybe you have made some poor decisions in your journey or stumbled along the way, no matter how you have been doing along life’s journey, it is not too late to finish well. Maybe you have been running the race of life well, I want to encourage you to keep focused on Christ, because you do not want to slip up now and finish poorly. As Paul finished his race what was he focused on?  2 Timothy 4:1-5 – “1 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge 2 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage  with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.” Paul’s focused was on the eternal, not the temporary, he understood that our hope is not found in this life but in the Lord. Because Paul focused on the eternal his priority was people and the preaching of God’s Word. Finishing well requires focusing on what will be forever. Finishing means following, being faithful, familiar, fighting for and following through while focusing on the Father. So how are you doing?

Psalm 40:1-3

“I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. 2 He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. 3 He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord.”

At some point we all find ourselves in the pits of disappointment, discouragement and even depression that leave us trapped by helpless and hopeless feelings of despair. When we try to climb out we encounter the walls of our weakness, we become bogged down in the muck and the mire of me. The problem with the pit is that we prefer to lean on self instead of the Savior, but when we are in the pits of life only the Provider can deliver us from our predicaments. Have you fallen into the pit of despair, overcome and overwhelmed by your problems? Today in Psalm 40 David reveals the lessons he learn that turned his pit of despair into a pinnacle of praise, power and a higher perspective.

• Patiently

The first point is often painful, are you willing to wait patiently? David said that he “waited patiently for the Lord to help” that means we stop trying and start trusting. Waiting on the Lord requires discipline and dedication, we must determine that God is greater than any problem and that He can use these down times to draw us closer to Himself. The pit is not the problem to our praise it’s our perspective of the pit, our circumstances can be the catalyst that cause us to cry out to God. David cried out because he couldn’t crawl out! So will you wait or whine? When we chose to wait on the Lord through our devotions we discover the One who can deliver. What we really discover is that it’s not about the despair or even the deliverance but the Deliverer. Waiting is work because it involves intentionally meditating on, looking to and hoping in God. When we wait we discover the promise of Isaiah 41:10, “They who wait upon the Lord, will renew their strength. They will run and not be weary they will walk and not faint.”  

• Plan

Do you believe that God has a plan, and if you do, what will you choose to focus on, the problem or the plan? Sometimes the Lord allows us to be trapped with no way out so others can see His power through our pain and problems. He allowed Joseph to be thrown into a pit where he was subsequently imprisoned in Egypt for 18 years. Yet, in Gen 50:20 Joseph wrote about his brothers, “You meant to throw me in the pit for evil, but God turned it for good for the saving of many lives.” Waiting means allowing the Lord to use your present discouraging experience for His purpose, plan and powerful demonstration. Do not think that you have to be delivered instantly. God is using you for His greater display of mighty power, perspective and problem solving capacities. David said that “Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord.”

• Platform

As David waited and watched he experienced God’s power to pull him out of the pit and provide a platform upon which he could stand. “He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.” God can pull you up out of any rut, depression or difficulty that you are stuck in. Only in His provision do we experience the solid platform and the praise of a new song. David wrote, “He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God”. God’s platform is not just a sure foundation, it is an opportunity and launching pad because He is the God of new songs and new beginnings. Not only will the Lord deliver you but He will bring others to Himself as a result of your experience of deliverance. “Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord.” James Rowe wrote about God’s power over the pit and our response of praise in 1912 when he wrote the Hymn “Love lifted me” He said this about God “when nothing else could help, love lifted me.” In the pit we hear a new song of praise as we discover Christ’s lifting power of love that pulls us out of despair, depression and discouragement.

• Privilege

We gain new understanding, wisdom and maturity as a result of our pit experiences. As a result of his time in the pit David wrote in verse 6-8 “You take no delight in sacrifices or offerings. Now that you have made me listen, I finally understand you don’t require burnt offerings or sin offerings. Then I said, “Look, I have come. As is written about me in the Scriptures: I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart.” Prior to the pit David performed religious rituals of offering animal sacrifices in the Tabernacle. Post pit he realizes that it’s not about going through the motions but the heart motivation. Today we to can become stuck in a ritual rut, and our assignments of giving and serving can become nothing more than an obligation. This is when the pit becomes a privilege because it can force us out of our ritualistically, selfish and begrudging sense of obligation. Your pit is not a predicament or a problem for God, rather, it is an opportunity to pull you out and place you on a platform of praise. Are you serve the Lord with gladness, do you come into His presence with praise? Do you see your pit as a privilege or a problem?