Why Should We Finish Strong?

“Death comes quickly.” On Saturday, those were the chilling words of our pastor, Robert Morris, who shared the story of his brush with death about two months ago.

His message weighed on my mind the rest of the day, so in order to unload some of the heaviness, my husband and I decided to watch a light comedy movie that night.

The flick turned out to be anything but “light.” The elderly lead female in the movie set a poor example by smoking pot with a teenaged boy who was a neighborhood drug dealer, then she and three other “seasoned” friends murdered three men and mutilated their bodies. I didn’t find any of that funny.

Sadly, the star of this movie, who had a brilliant career, died before the movie was released. I thought, Death came quickly for her and this movie was her last offering.

The compilation of Pastor Robert’s words and this actress’ fate made me wonder, “If today was my last day on Earth, would I be ashamed or thankful for the day I lived?

The life I’ve lived?

What about you?

Would you be a role model or a model of what not to do?

Kind rather than abrasive?

Fearful or trusting?

Would your relationship with your heavenly Father be vibrant or would it be distant?

Would you even have any relationship with God?

2 Timothy 1:14 says to “Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.”

Because of our fallen state as humans, we cannot finish strong without the Holy Spirit doing the work within us.

When we accepted Christ as Lord and Savior, the third part of the Trinity came to dwell within us, so in 2 Timothy, the Apostle Paul is saying to guard this gift we were given the moment we prayed a prayer to receive Jesus. We should protect our salvation, and daily watch out for anything or anyone who wants to destroy our witness; to always be aware so that nothing takes us off course.

The enemy of our soul is not that creative. We can expect him to always goes after our achilles heel. He would like nothing better than to find the crack in our spiritual door so he can destroy our Christian platform. Then we go out with a whimper from the pit rather than a shout of praise from the rooftop.

Maybe you’ve been convicted like I was, or maybe these words are a bunch of nonsense to you. If it’s all gobbledygook, wouldn’t you like some clarity and hope? “Death comes quickly” but there is a way to have certainty that you will spend eternity in Heaven if death knocks on your door. Just take the time to pray this prayer today:

Father God, I’ve done a lot of things wrong, called sin, and know I’ve missed your perfect mark, but I believe your Son, Jesus, came to this Earth to close the gap between me and you, a Holy God. Jesus was crucified on a cross, died, and rose again from the dead to cover my sins with His blood. Today, I commit my life to you. Make a deposit in my heart, and teach me your ways. I want to finish strong. In Jesus Name I pray, AMEN.