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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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