To the end? (01-31-22)– Hanging In There!--2 Timothy 4:6
My friend, may I ask you a question? When you and I keep our eternal goals in sight, does it makes the work getting there a whole lot easier?
My friend, Life’s a story, welcome to This Passing Day.
I'm M. Clifford Brunner.
Preparation. It goes a long way in keeping a person on track. About a year or so ago, my wife and I built a dog run. We had long been concerned for the increasing number of coyotes in the area and, owning two very small dogs, thought that it would be a good thing to fence in an area toward the back of our property where the dogs could freely roam all after- noon without the threat of them wandering off or something else wandering in. The threat is what drove us on to complete the project despite the fact that we had to drive hundreds of poles and string a half a mile of fencing. As long as we kept the image fresh in our mind of the dogs roaming freely and safely, there simply was no way we were going to quit before that last fence post was driven and wire twisted.
Here's a story: On the Fourth of July in 1951, Florence Chadwick, the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions, attempted to swim from Catalina Island to the California coast. The challenge was not so much the distance, but the bone-chilling waters of the Pacific. To complicate matters, a dense fog lay over the entire area, making it impossible for her to see land. After about 15 hours in the water, and within a half mile of her goal, Chadwick gave up. Later she told a reporter, "Look, I'm not excusing myself. But if I could have seen land, I might have made it." Not long afterward she attempted the feat again.
Once more a misty veil obscured the coastline and she couldn’t see the shore. But this time she made it because she kept reminding herself that land was there. With that confidence she bravely swam on and achieved her goal. In fact, she broke the men’s record by 2 hours! (Our Daily Bread.)
The Apostle Paul writes in 2 Timothy 4:6: "For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure." Paul had been rotting in a Roman dungeon for a long time and he knew that the end was near when he wrote these words. Yet, there was a job to finish and a young man named Timothy to encourage. What kept him going, enduring through those long, dark days in prison? Paul had a goal in mind. He could see "land", so to speak. There was no way he was going to give up his faith now that he had come so far. Achieving the goal of eternal life in Christ was at hand and now was the time to turn his face back toward the goal of finishing the race. When you and I keep our eternal goals in sight, it makes the work getting there a whole lot easier. Enduring till the end, is worth while when we are prepared to know what waits for us if only we are willing to run the race.
We pray. Heavenly Father, there truly is no way we like Paul are going to give up our faith now that we’ve come this far. Remind us of this every single day Lord. Achieving the goal of eternal life in Christ is at hand and now is the time to turn our face back toward the goal of finishing this race. When we keep our eternal goals in sight, it makes the work getting there a whole lot easier. Keep us pointed in the right direction, so we can finish this race well. Enduring till the end, is worthwhile when we are prepared to know what waits for us if only we are willing to run the race. In Jesus name we pray. Amen!
Therefore my friend, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry for itself; each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matt 6:34) This Passing Day. May this passing day honor our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and be a blessing to you and everyone you meet. Find a stranger and say hello. Don't let another day pass without your day blessing someone else.
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<thispassingday@gmail.com> From Beech Springs, God bless you for Jesus sake.