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FINISH THE COURSE
"I have fought a good fight, I HAVE FINISHED MY
COURSE, I have kept the faith: "
-- 2 Timothy 4:7
My good friend and I went to play a round of golf at a
course in his area while I was on vacation.
My friend is a brother in the Lord Jesus and one of my biggest
encouragements for my online ministry and my walk
with Christ.
We had a great time playing golf together. Just visiting and
talking about Jesus on the golf course. It doesn't get much
better than that. :o)
Until the rain began.
It began to pour down on us. Folks went scrambling for
cover under trees. Many of them packed up their bags
and left the course.
My friend and I?
We continued to play during the rain!
It cleared up for a bit and we hit the "back nine." Then, it
began to rumble. You could see a dark cloud forming
to the back of us. The wind kicked up a bit.
And we kept playing through it all.
And we finished the course.
When the rains came, most of the golfers went home. Not
us. We had come to play golf and play golf we did!
Most of the golfers only wanted to play when conditions
were "right." They were only going to finish the course if
the weather was good. They were looking for an ideal
setting and quit when it began to rain.
You know, there is a very good analogy of the Christian
life here. Many Christians stay on course only when
conditions are "right." They only want to stay when the
weather around them is good and they are surrounded
with the ideal setting.
But, how many stay the course when the rains come?
How many finish strong despite the dark cloud of
difficulty that forms behind them? How many keep going
when the winds of hardship and suffering kick up
and the storms begin to hit them full force?
Jesus never promised us "ideal" surroundings here on
earth. In fact, the Bible teaches clearly that various
tests and trials and difficulties WILL come into our lives.
Who will pack their bags and run? And who will finish
the course with Jesus Christ?
The Apostle Paul -- a man who went throught beatings
and stonings and whippings and shipwrecks and all
kinds of difficult times -- said at the close of his life, "I
have fought a good fight, I HAVE FINISHED MY
COURSE, I have kept the faith: " (2 Timothy 4:7)
Paul wasn't looking for good weather. He wasn't asking
for ideal settings. And He sure wasn't on the course just
when it was convenient and conditions were "right."
He stayed on course because of a rock-solid, burning,
overwhelming, intense love for the Savior.
And there weren't any storms going to slow him down or
back him down when it came to following Christ.
Christian, how about you and I? There is no doubt that storms
will come. You may see the dark cloud forming before you
right now. You might very well be in the middle of the storm
of all storms.
Will you get mad at God and quit? Will you lose faith and turn
back? Will you give up and give in?
Or, will you finish the course?
Sometimes it rains.
But, that doesn't mean you should quit.
This devotional was written by Jimmy D. Brown and reprinted by permission.
©2002 Jimmy D. Brown.
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