Finishing Well

As we read through the history of the Kings of Israel and Judah, we are told that they either were a good king and did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, or that they were not a good king and did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord. What strikes me as interesting is how many of the kings that were good kings did not finish well or still had a couple areas of weakness in their following the Lord.

Asa was one of those kings. He cleaned up Judah and got rid of the shrine prostitutes and idols. He got rid of the Asherah pole of his grandmother and removed her from her position as queen mother. Then he stopped short of getting rid of the high places. “Although he did not remove the high places, his heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life.” I Kings 15:14

Asa got tired fighting with Israel and took all the temple treasures of gold and silver and paid Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, to quit siding with Israel and side with Judah. Instead of turning to God for help, he went to an earthly kingdom to fight his battles for him. Later in life, we learn that King Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. “Though the disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the Lord, but only from the physicians.” II Chronicles 16:12

“At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: ‘Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen? Yet when you relied on the Lord, he delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.’" II Chronicles 16:7-9

Somewhere along the line, Asa quit fully relying on God and began to rely on the armies of men. He quite trusting God to care for him and began to rely on physicians. How could someone who started so strong end up so weak?

When athletes line up for a race, there are three parts to the race: the start, the middle, and the finish. Some athletes begin strong but fizzle out quickly, some run strong through the race but don’t finish well, and some start strong, run strong and finish strong. What is the difference in these athletes? An athlete that starts strong but fizzles out is generally one who hasn’t thought through the race in his head. He is someone who is not disciplined but rather ‘wings it’. He may not have conditioned his body for the race. He doesn’t understand how to pace himself. Even a strong, conditioned athlete can run a strong race all along but not reserve anything for the finish. To have a strong finish, the athlete needs to prepare himself totally for the race – physically and mentally. He needs to condition himself with winning in mind. He needs to know himself and know his opponents.

Paul says, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” I Corinthians 9:24-25

My life is made up of many smaller races that add up to the big race. Each day I run a race. When I get to the end of the day, can I say with confidence, “I started well, I ran a good race, and I finished well?” As I look at a week of my life, can I say, “I started well, I ran a good race, and I finished well?” How about the last year? Or the last ten years? When I get to my death bed, will I look back over my life and be able to say I ran a good race?

It seems that when the kings failed to finish well, it was because they took their eyes off of God and looked to foreign kings to save them from their enemies or to fight a battle for them. Or sometimes it was because they took stock of all that God had given them and thought they had in some way earned it and their pride in their own accomplishments kept them from finishing well.

What do I need to finish well? I think I need to begin each day with time set apart for God. This is a time when I seek his face and submit my will to his. It is a time when I draw my strength from his. It is a time when I learn to not rely on myself but to rather rely on him. It is a time when he prepares me for the race. Then, throughout the day, I need to persevere and draw on that strength and wisdom that he filled me with at the beginning of the day. Sometimes, I can get recharged throughout the day as well. The end of the day is the hardest part. When I am tired and battered, rather than forging ahead, I want to retreat. Sometimes I take my eyes off of the finish line and off of the Provider of Life and whine that I have nothing left. I forget to look back at all the things he has done for me and be encouraged to forge ahead to the finish line with the knowledge that he will continue to provide for me the strength and wisdom I need if I rely totally on him, not myself, not my circumstances and not others to hold me up.

I want to finish well – moment by moment, day by day, week by week, month by month, and year by year. That means I need to always keep my eyes on the Lord, the One who sustains me and not rely on anyone or anything else that comes along.