Till We Cross The Finish Line

 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12v2

“There is a race that I must run, there are victories to be won…..” are the lyrics of a song sung in many Churches in Southern Africa. Nothing could be further from a lie than that. There is no one who just lives for no reason. Everyone born of a woman has a specific purpose of existence. That automatically shuts out the assertion that says I have nothing to live for anymore.

Among the destinies and purposes of existence that God gives, marriage is not one of them, neither is a college degree, a relationship or anything of the sort. How many people somewhere have committed suicide just because their spouses had died or because they had failed to attain a certain certificate from the university? It is very sad yet that is what is happening every day somewhere in this world. People are dying for some things that are not worth dying for. God did not send you to this earth so that you could have an ultimate goal of having a loving husband and cute babies. There is more to life than that so there is no reason good enough to major on that. There is a race that you must run and so you cannot quit a race because you faced a hurdle.

The first purpose that God gave to man-kind was to be fruitful, multiply and replenish the earth (Genesis 1v29). A husband cannot be compared to such a purpose. I know that some think that the scripture there is talking about having a lot of babies to fill up vacant islands and flats, that will have to be clarified some other time but I can assure you that the scripture means much more than that. I just want to challenge someone out there who was about to give up on life because they lost a loved one or a loved thing. It’s not over for you, it simply is time for you to shake off the dust and move on. We cannot be deterred by what happens on the outside. Paul says though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4v16). He also said there is one thing that he does (that I also want you to do), forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, he said, ‘’I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”(Philippians 3v13-14) Hebrews urges us to fix our eyes on Jesus, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross (12v2). Look at Abraham, he considered not his own body dead, neither did he consider the deadness of Sarah’s womb, but He trusted in God who raises the dead and calls things that be not as though they were (Romans 4v17).

If there is something that can afford to hold you back let it not be your past, let it not be loss of anything. Joseph did not give up on his life because of losing 11 brothers and parents; he looked at the finish line. Jesus lost the love of the whole nation which came up against Him, but He looked at the finish line. Jesus lost Peter and Judas Iscariot, His closest allies, but He did not give up on life: He looked at the finish line. Ruth lost a husband. She was not deterred but clang to her mother in law; she looked at the finish line. There is no loss that can afford to bring you down; you are going through what you are going through so that you can bring someone out when you are out. The best teacher is the one who was once a student: he understands what being a student feels like and thus he knows how best to treat students. Don’t give up on your dream, the reason why God allowed you to go through it was because He knew that you have the power to overcome it. You just cannot afford to give up, look at the finish line: God is counting on you, on the strength He gave you, so that once you come out you can bring out someone else who is going to be in the same situation after you, do not let Him down.

You are here for a purpose and every road to a destiny can be marred by obstacles, just do not look at the obstacles; focus on the finish line. The end of a matter shall be greater than its beginning (Ecclesiastes 7v8), THE LATTER GLORY shall be greater than the former. If you can hold on for one more day, God will give you beauty for ashes, a garment of dancing will He give you and take away the sackcloth of mourning. Ask Esther what she went through, and see how her end was greater than her beginning. Who are you then to give up? Your destiny is far too big to be aborted.

One question that lingers is: how can I know my purpose of existence? The Bible says in Psalm 37v4  Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. The desires of your heart there does not mean that God will give you what you desire but it means that the more you accustom yourself with God, He will give you things to desire rather than the things you desire. The reason being that some things you desire may be fleshly or evil and above all, they may not be in line with your purpose of existence so if you fellowship with God more, He will give you things to desire that are in line with His purpose for your life. Don’t you know of some Pastors who have university degrees for things that have nothing to do with being a Pastor? Some are philosophy doctors in areas with nothing to do with the Gospel. They never desired to be Pastors but when they delighted in the Lord, He gave them the desires of their hearts. It’s not confusion, but what really knows who you are is your spirit, your inner-man(Eph3v16), the hidden man of the heart(1Peter 3v4) and unless you pay attention to your spirit through fellowship with God, you can never know your purpose of existence. Don’t be afraid though, because purpose is not all about being in ministry, you can be called to be a doctor, teacher, entrepreneur, politician, miner or janitor. Yes! Professions have callings. Another way to see your purpose of existence is by observing yourself, what you like. What is it that you enjoy the most when someone else does it? And what is it that annoys you the most when done wrongly? That can tell you where your purpose lies, although the reliability of those things needs to be verified and clarified before depending upon it.

My issue however is not about discovering your purpose but it is about conquering obstacles on your path and that is what I am here to help you with. The devil is a master of distraction and that is what he uses in his quest against your destiny. He likes to present minors as majors and thus he likes it when you misplace priorities and highly esteem things that are not very important in your life. He succeeded with Adam, tried with Jesus, succeeded with Iscariot and tried with Peter. Nothing compares to your purpose of existence, don’t let anything distract you from looking at the finish line. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to stop you from crossing the finish line. Whatever you face, it is a passing phase; it is going away so look at the finish line. Till next time,

Jesus Is Lord!! TLG