Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls! Hebrews 12:1-3 {MSG}

Today’s the last day in this series and I’ll be sharing my thoughts on crossing the Finish Line.

So. As I mentioned yesterday, after way too much internal dialogue and analysis, I was finally able to get myself into a comfortable running pace and stay there. With that conquered … next up? The finish line.

I’d finally made it past the halfway-turnaround point and could see the pier I needed to make it to in the distance … the finish line was just past that pier.

For me … my own personal glory would come as I RAN across that finish line. I mean, come on … I could already hear the choir of angels singing hallelujah in my mind! I’ll tell ya what though, as my legs became dead weight, my mouth parched, and the cramp in my side stronger, I really wanted to slow to a walk.

But I was determined. I knew my goal and wanted to accomplish it.

The translation at the top of this post says it like this, “Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God.”

As I was running along, with that derned pier still too far in the distance, I noticed others around me slowing to a walk. It took everything inside me not to do the same.

Instead, I started thinking about my faith … and the finish line. And the Author and Finisher of my faith {Hebrews 12:2}.

And the eternal finish line I’ll cross one day.

I’m the first to admit, there have definitely been times my faith has slowed … sometimes even drastically. In fact, I just came out of one of those periods. I needed to go back to my very basic fundamental beliefs, and take some baby steps until I felt I could breathe again.

But the important thing is I didn’t give up. My eyes were … and are … focused on my eternal goal. I believe in His promises and I have hope.

Hope upon hope. Promise upon promise. Until I feel the lifting of my head.

The last part of the above verse, “When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!”

Friends, I did cross that finish line. And I was able to run across it. That was my goal and I didn’t give up. But even if I did need to slow to a walk … the important thing was forward movement. Step by step. It didn’t matter how fast I got there. The fact is, I got there.

Friends, it’s like that in our faith. We can’t look at someone’s “middle” and make that our expectation. We need to start right where we are. Building up our faith … foundation upon foundation … truth upon truth … hope upon hope … promise upon promise.

That’s where He’ll meet us. And when it happens? Adrenaline … straight into our souls!

running the race … {post one}
running the race … {post two}

Have you heard? I’m hosting a Facebook study group on my e-book 31 days of faith. Each day in August, I’ll walk through the book with you in a more in-depth sort of way. My hope is to breathe encouragement into your day, to help you see Jesus, and to show you joy in the middle of a trial.

If you’re on Instagram and would like to join in the study in a different way, the hashtag is #31faith. I can be found as tmstier.

Additional details found here. 31 days of faith buying options found here.