Romans 9:19-23
Well then, you might say, “Why does God blame people for not responding? Haven’t they simply done what he makes them do?”
No, don’t say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?” When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into? In the same way, even though God has the right to show his anger and his power, he is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who are destined for destruction. He does this to make the riches of his glory shine even brighter on those to whom he shows mercy, who were prepared in advance for glory.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
“It’s not how you start… it’s how you finish.” I have to admit, when I heard my friend Steve, the high school athletic director/head football coach, tell his elementary-school-aged son this one spring Saturday, I thought for a moment… “Well there’s a cliché if ever I heard one!” I’m sure he tells his football team this throughout the year… but just how relevant was this comment for a young boy? As I read this scripture passage today, I realized that these words are incredibly relevant… a phrase that we should drill into our children from an early age… and remember well into our adulthood.
These are not only words of patience and perseverance… but of hope. I don’t know why some people are born into poverty… but I know plenty who have worked their way out of it. I don’t know why some babies are born with birth defects and physical deformities… but I know those who have lived rich, full lives in spite of their afflictions. I don’t know why God allows “bad things to happen to good people,” but I can’t count the people I know who have “made lemons out of lemonade” – with God’s help and patient perseverance. I don’t know why some things have to be so hard… but I know that practice makes better musicians, workouts make better athletes, and studying makes better scholars. “It’s not how you start… it’s how you finish.”
We so often want to question God… and to blame Him. “God made me this way,” becomes a crutch rather than a fact. God may have made you a certain way… but that doesn’t mean He intended for you to finish the same as you began! God wants us to take what He has given us… what He allows to happen in our lives… and to faithfully and patiently call on His strength and power to do the very best we can with what we have been given. So as I read an interview with NBC television host Kathie Lee Gifford where she talked of her sister’s bout with colitis at age 23, I paid attention to the sister’s attitude. Gifford was ready to be angry with God because her sister, a new mother at the time, had to be fitted with a colostomy bag. She was heartbroken and bitter that her sister would have to wear this bag for the rest of her life. Her sister, however, said, “Because of this bag God gave me, I get to see my daughter grow up.” Now that’s patience, perseverance – and the right perspective - in action. That’s focusing on how you finish rather than how you start!
I have no idea what God has allowed in your life… or where you started. I don’t know where you are today, but I know you don’t have to stay there if you are dissatisfied or not living life to your fullest potential. I can’t say that God will make every poor person rich… or heal every sick person…because our lives are not that “black and white.” But what I can promise is that God stands ready to help you make the absolute most of your life and its circumstances… if only you will call on Him to help you. He will provide you with strength, courage, fortitude, and patience for the journey. He will help you finish strong! The adage really is true… “It’s not how you start… it’s how you finish.” Where does this leave you?
©2013 Debbie Robus
Showing posts with label how you finish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label how you finish. Show all posts
Daily Devotional for May 21, 2013
Hebrews 6:9-12
I’m sure that won’t happen to you, friends. I have better things in mind for you—salvation things! God doesn’t miss anything. He knows perfectly well all the love you’ve shown him by helping needy Christians, and that you keep at it. And now I want each of you to extend that same intensity toward a full-bodied hope, and keep at it till the finish. Don’t drag your feet. Be like those who stay the course with committed faith and then get everything promised to them.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
We cannot escape talking about what happened in Oklahoma yesterday. As a former teacher, and the aunt to nieces, nephews, cousins and other little ones for whom I would walk across hot coals, I was heartbroken to learn that young children were missing and/or injured – and dead. When I heard that a third grade class was involved, I immediately thought of my precious 3rd-grade cousin, Olivia… and my eyes filled with tears. I tried to busy myself with other things…but I kept being drawn back to the television news reports. I prayed for those involved… particularly the little children – “LORD, please don’t let them be afraid. Shelter them. Comfort them, as only You can.”
Very clearly, I was reminded of a passage in William P. Young’s novel, The Shack. A six-year-old girl has been abducted while on a family camping trip. She has been brutalized and killed… and her father is understandably distraught. Jesus comes to sit beside the father, who says that he keeps thinking about his little girl being all alone with her deranged attacker. Jesus tells him that she was not alone – not for one minute. He and the Holy Spirit never left her… He could never do that!
This greatly comforted me. I felt as if God was saying, “I never left the people of Oklahoma. They were not alone for one instant.” And somehow, I felt that they were wrapped safely in Jesus’s arms… and they were peaceful, sheltered – and unafraid in those horrifying moments.
We are heartsick for this community and its residents. We are eager to help. For several hours last night, my Facebook wall “lit up” with comments like “Prayers for Oklahoma,” and “Our hearts are with the tornado victims.” But by this morning, people were beginning to post recipes, pretty pictures, and other mundane thoughts that crowd this social media venue on a daily basis. It didn’t happen to us directly, so a lot of us have moved on already. And to a degree, we are supposed to get back to living our lives. But we must not forget completely. We must not drag our feet in doing what we can to help…sending donations and manpower – or even stopping to pray.
In any situation where our immediate instinct is to “do something,” we must not let our adrenaline wane as time passes. We must remain vigilant in checking on those who are in need, whether it is tornado victims, someone who is sick, elderly, shut-in, or hurting emotionally. We must continue to reach out to others… to think of the person who is grieving six months later - and not just for the first six days… to encourage those who are struggling financially even after they find a job or obtain some sort of assistance… to pray for those who might appear to have rebuilt their homes and lives after a “disaster” of one sort or another.
We were playing with Timothy and Zola in a local park a few weeks ago when our high school football coach and his family arrived… the mom and younger children by car… the coach and his two older sons by bicycle, where they had ridden over from a nearby nature trail to play with the rest of the family. When they were all ready to leave, the mom suggested they go for frozen yogurt. The coach/father said that sounded good… but he and the boys would have to ride their bikes back to the trail and get their car, which would take about twenty minutes. One of the boys did not want to do this… he wanted to load his bike into Mom’s car and ride over. His dad told him that he must ride his bike. He explained to the boy… “Son, it’s not how you start… it’s how you finish!”
I’m sure the coach has told his football team this more than once. But it was great advice for all of us… especially as Christians. How we start to care for others is important… but how we finish is even more so. We must be diligent in our efforts to help others… and patient with them as they grapple with the struggles and challenges of rebuilding and recovery. We are all a work in progress. The GOOD NEWS is that we are not alone on the journey… Jesus never leaves us – not for one instant! This should give us courage and incentive to persevere with patient endurance.
As you pray for the people of Oklahoma – and others who are in need – thank God for never leaving us, especially in the midst of such horrific disasters as the Oklahoma tornado. Ask Him to show you “salvation things”. Ask God to reveal how and where He wishes you to minister to others… and call on Him to grant you a hefty dose of patience and persistence. As important as it is for us to get up and get going, it’s equally important that we not drag our feet in ministry and service. The question we must ask ourselves today is “Where do I begin?”… but just as importantly, “How will I finish?”
©2013 Debbie Robus
The Shack – ©2007 William P. Young – Published by Windblown Media.
I’m sure that won’t happen to you, friends. I have better things in mind for you—salvation things! God doesn’t miss anything. He knows perfectly well all the love you’ve shown him by helping needy Christians, and that you keep at it. And now I want each of you to extend that same intensity toward a full-bodied hope, and keep at it till the finish. Don’t drag your feet. Be like those who stay the course with committed faith and then get everything promised to them.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
We cannot escape talking about what happened in Oklahoma yesterday. As a former teacher, and the aunt to nieces, nephews, cousins and other little ones for whom I would walk across hot coals, I was heartbroken to learn that young children were missing and/or injured – and dead. When I heard that a third grade class was involved, I immediately thought of my precious 3rd-grade cousin, Olivia… and my eyes filled with tears. I tried to busy myself with other things…but I kept being drawn back to the television news reports. I prayed for those involved… particularly the little children – “LORD, please don’t let them be afraid. Shelter them. Comfort them, as only You can.”
Very clearly, I was reminded of a passage in William P. Young’s novel, The Shack. A six-year-old girl has been abducted while on a family camping trip. She has been brutalized and killed… and her father is understandably distraught. Jesus comes to sit beside the father, who says that he keeps thinking about his little girl being all alone with her deranged attacker. Jesus tells him that she was not alone – not for one minute. He and the Holy Spirit never left her… He could never do that!
This greatly comforted me. I felt as if God was saying, “I never left the people of Oklahoma. They were not alone for one instant.” And somehow, I felt that they were wrapped safely in Jesus’s arms… and they were peaceful, sheltered – and unafraid in those horrifying moments.
We are heartsick for this community and its residents. We are eager to help. For several hours last night, my Facebook wall “lit up” with comments like “Prayers for Oklahoma,” and “Our hearts are with the tornado victims.” But by this morning, people were beginning to post recipes, pretty pictures, and other mundane thoughts that crowd this social media venue on a daily basis. It didn’t happen to us directly, so a lot of us have moved on already. And to a degree, we are supposed to get back to living our lives. But we must not forget completely. We must not drag our feet in doing what we can to help…sending donations and manpower – or even stopping to pray.
In any situation where our immediate instinct is to “do something,” we must not let our adrenaline wane as time passes. We must remain vigilant in checking on those who are in need, whether it is tornado victims, someone who is sick, elderly, shut-in, or hurting emotionally. We must continue to reach out to others… to think of the person who is grieving six months later - and not just for the first six days… to encourage those who are struggling financially even after they find a job or obtain some sort of assistance… to pray for those who might appear to have rebuilt their homes and lives after a “disaster” of one sort or another.
We were playing with Timothy and Zola in a local park a few weeks ago when our high school football coach and his family arrived… the mom and younger children by car… the coach and his two older sons by bicycle, where they had ridden over from a nearby nature trail to play with the rest of the family. When they were all ready to leave, the mom suggested they go for frozen yogurt. The coach/father said that sounded good… but he and the boys would have to ride their bikes back to the trail and get their car, which would take about twenty minutes. One of the boys did not want to do this… he wanted to load his bike into Mom’s car and ride over. His dad told him that he must ride his bike. He explained to the boy… “Son, it’s not how you start… it’s how you finish!”
I’m sure the coach has told his football team this more than once. But it was great advice for all of us… especially as Christians. How we start to care for others is important… but how we finish is even more so. We must be diligent in our efforts to help others… and patient with them as they grapple with the struggles and challenges of rebuilding and recovery. We are all a work in progress. The GOOD NEWS is that we are not alone on the journey… Jesus never leaves us – not for one instant! This should give us courage and incentive to persevere with patient endurance.
As you pray for the people of Oklahoma – and others who are in need – thank God for never leaving us, especially in the midst of such horrific disasters as the Oklahoma tornado. Ask Him to show you “salvation things”. Ask God to reveal how and where He wishes you to minister to others… and call on Him to grant you a hefty dose of patience and persistence. As important as it is for us to get up and get going, it’s equally important that we not drag our feet in ministry and service. The question we must ask ourselves today is “Where do I begin?”… but just as importantly, “How will I finish?”
©2013 Debbie Robus
The Shack – ©2007 William P. Young – Published by Windblown Media.
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