Run the straight race through God’s good grace,
Lift up thine eyes, and seek His face;
Life with its way before us lies,
Christ is the path, and Christ the prize.

 

Steve Miller
We Need to Finish Well
So they ran and brought him from there; and when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom the
Lord has chosen, that there is no one like him among all the people?” So all the people shouted and said, “Long live the king!”
1 Samuel 10:23-24
It is easy for everyone to start a race but the importance lies in how we finish it. When we watch long distance runners, we see that some of them start well, running at the front of the pack but slowly, as the race progresses, they fall behind until eventually, they are no longer in the picture. Other runners, however, plan their race carefully by pacing themselves and are therefore able to finish the race successfully. The endurance we require to successfully finish the ‘Christian Race’ comes from our faith in Jesus.

 

King Saul is an example of someone who started the race well. He was chosen by God to be the first king of Israel and was anointed by Samuel the prophet. The Lord changed his heart and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him and he prophesied like the other prophets. God not only made him king but also gave him power through His Spirit.
When Samuel came to appoint Saul as king, he was found hiding among the equipment. His lack of confidence and modesty at that time differed greatly from what he would become when he stopped depending on God and chose to depend on the wisdom of man. His disobedience and rejection of God’s word eventually led to his downfall as God stripped him of his title and rejected him from being king.

 

We must remember that when we are running, we are responsible for our own performance on the track. Our coach, the Holy Spirit, has trained and equipped us for the race but we need to bring to remembrance and implement all that He has taught us. We need to spend time with Him so that we can recognise His voice and be able to distinguish it from other voices that try to distract us and cause us to trip and fall.

 

Let us be challenged today to remain focused on the Lord who gives us the strength to run with endurance, so that we can finish the race to hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Dear Lord,
I thank You for this day. Help me to lean on Your mercy and guidance for every decision that I make so that I can finish my race well. Amen.

God bless you,
Theo and Manju