Finishing Strong

It's been a very long haul, but we are almost finished with the remodel of my parents' bathroom. We've been working on it since late February, using a ton of vacation time, evenings and weekends. The shower has been functional for a couple of weeks now, so we're down to the final finishing touches. Some trim here, repaint there, the details are all that's left.

Through the process, I've been given several opportunities to "call it good" and leave it mostly finished...ugly, but functional. And every time it's come up, I've had to decline the opportunity to bag it, tired as I was, because it didn't yet fit the picture I had in my mind when I started.

Life is like that, isn't it? We work, toil and press on, sometimes through seemingly impossible circumstances and constantly we hear the whispers. "You've earned your rest, just go ahead and stop. Everyone will understand." "No one really cares, you know...just let it go." And when you're tired and worn out, if you don't keep your eyes on the end game, on the finish line, on finishing strong - you can listen and you can rationalize easing up or even quitting.

That's just what Satan wants. He knows that the only real victory he can win over a Christ-filled person is to get them to quit. That's why discouragement and depression are two of his favorite weapons. Paired with fatigue, he has successfully ended the journey to destiny for countless millions of believers.

So wake up to the enemy's scheme. Don't give in and don't give up. As Winston Churchill's famous graduation speech so eloquently puts it, "Never, never, never quit."

Finish strong!