It’s one thing to start a long project, it’s something else entirely to finish. We start training for a marathon, but we get an injury that sidetracks us. We dream of writing a book, but when we discover the difficulty of the task, we get bogged down. We order plans to build a desk, buy the materials, even get the oak cut to size. But then we are stymied by the dovetail joints.
Greg Laurie has a book, Losers and Winners, Saints and Sinners: How to Finish Strong in the Spiritual Race. He tells the story of Al Marchand, who was a flight attendant on flight 175 on September 11, 2001. That’s the one that struck the south tower. Al had become a believer a few years before and had felt a call to become a flight attendant. He wanted to be there to share the gospel if he was ever on a plane that went down. No doubt many from that plane walked through the gates of heaven with him. Greg uses his story as an example of someone who finished well.
Sweet Jesus, we want to end well–in the long projects as well as in our lives. Please help us push through the obstacles we will confront today.