Motivation for Finishing Well

Good morning! Well it is official…the Pittsburgh Steelers are Super Bowl champions once again and thankfully the alcohol fueled revelers didn’t burn the town to the ground last night.

Today I want to talk about inspiration to finish well. For the Steelers there came a point in this season where they had been counted out. Those in the media doubted that they would even make the playoffs. The team made a commitment within themselves to go all the way to the Super Bowl and finish strong. They rallied around the ideal of getting Jerome Bettis a Super Bowl championship in his hometown.

Each of us is involved in this endurance race called life. Sometimes the race is easy and at other times it is all we can do not to quit. So what should be our inspiration and motivation for finishing well? Look at the following passage from Hebrews:

Hebrews 12:1 (NLT)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us.

Anytime in scripture we come to the word “therefore” we need to be asking: “What is it “there for?” In Hebrews chapter 11 we are given what you might call the “Faith Hall of Fame.” The faith of some of the most prominent Biblical figures is laid out for us. This is where the inspiration comes into play. The thought here being, that since we are surrounded by the faith of these great men and women of faith from the past, we are bound with them by our own faith. Think of it this way…we carry their legacy of faith. The way we live out our faith will be witnessed by future generations and will have a direct impact on how they live out their faith.

Notice the next thing that this passage spells out for us. We have to drop the excess baggage. Thoughts of being a “loser”, a “failure”, “worthless” and any other lie that we buy into, must be discarded. Most importantly though, we must deal with sin in our lives, because it “so easily hinders our progress.” Think about this thought for a moment. The weight of sin is easily identified in feelings of guilt, remorse, shame, etc… Those things cause us to always look over our shoulder…to live in the past and to lower our heads in shame. The good news is that God forgives and the even better news is that in His eyes, once it is forgiven it is forgotten. When you confess your sin to God, He wipes your slate clean. We are the ones that seem to want to carry the burdensome baggage of our past with us.

Notice the final thought of this verse. The theme here is endurance. Life is not a sprint it is a marathon. Endurance is the key to finishing strong. What helps us to endure? That huge crowd of witnesses does. God has put people all around you to encourage you, to dust you off when you stumble, to pray for you, to cheer for you when times get tough. In football, a noisy supportive crowd of fans is called “the 12^th man,” their very presence gives the team extra motivation to do well.

Today thank God for the “12^th man” in your life. Ask him to help you finish your race with excellence.

Until next Monday, may God’s richest blessings be yours this week.

Carl