How To Finish Well

Our senior pastor preached his last sermon this past Sunday. After fifty years in full-time ministry, he is retiring. We were blessed to have sat under his guidance and preaching the Word for the past two years. Thankfully, he will remain on staff in a part-time position. Believe me when I say he would otherwise be greatly missed.

His sermon was about finishing well. Before you ask, no, it wasn’t about his achievements. He gave us six points to follow in our own lives in order to finish well. Today, I’m touching on three of those points.

How To Finish Well @DDuPreeWilliams #FinishTheRaceWell #writing #Faith Share on X

KEEP TO THE SPECIFIC RACE

Sometimes, we get confused by what that may be. We have many desires and talents or gifts.  We want to use all of them, but God has called each of us to a specific task. For some, that may be multiple things. But each one in its own time.

I’m now a published author with this blog I’ve written for over ten years, and with one novel published. Book two is in the final stages of being ready to launch into the world. If you’d asked me what I was going to do with my life when I was eighteen and heading off to college, I’d have told you I was going to be an opera diva.

But then God put the man of my dreams in my life and that idea changed. I was content to be a choir member and sometimes, soprano soloist in one of the finest church choirs in Birmingham, Alabama. Then, as I became a mother, my role changed again. I still sang, but this time in Florida in much smaller churches as we reared our four boys.

Never had I ever considered that I could be a writer. I mean never. Oh, I’d written poetry and some could eventually turn into picture books, but a novel? Me? At age 70 I became a published author with Grave Consequences. Its sequel, Grave Decisions will be out in the next weeks or months. God knows where it is going. I trust Him to lead me in that decision. I’d appreciate your prayers for favor over this new book.

The point is to know what God has called you to at any point in your life. And go do that for His glory. Don’t let the world call you away from the thing God has placed in your heart and His calling on your life.

KEEP AT IT

Writing isn’t easy. It’s a lonely job as so much time is spent closed off from others around you. For an extrovert like me, this is especially difficult. If I hear voices or activity in my house, I want to get up and join the goings-on. But, I can’t do that and remain faithful to the task at hand. There are words and ideas and books and blogs to share with the world.

I may never reach the big audiences many of my friends have, but that’s when I have to remember . . . I write for an audience of One. He is the One who will take my words where they are supposed to be. My job is to keep at it for His glory. Get those words and those ideas on paper so that others can hopefully, find God in something I happened to pen.

KEEP YOUR EYES ON JESUS

Oh, man, this one is hard. We may feel we’re doing that, but then something in the world around us (satan) pulls us away and into things we don’t need to even think about, let alone spend time engaging in. When we keep our eyes on Jesus, He will help us stay focused on the call He placed on our lives.

How do we do that? And believe me when I tell you I’m saying this to myself first! We tune out the world and keep our minds on Kingdom things. Turn off that television. Put down that phone. Stay in God’s Word with regular, daily Bible study. Put on praise music. Sing your heart out. Lift those hands. Dance like no one is watching. Turn off the lights, close the shades, get in a quiet corner, and listen to God’s voice. Any of these can drown out the world.

Jesus is all you need. He is everything. And He will never lead you astray. And you can and will make it to that finish line where you will one day hear, Well done, good and faithful servant.

 Blessings, y’all!

Just a simple reminder today. Go spend some time with Jesus. He welcomes you with open arms. Remember – He died for you.