“That I might finish my course with joy.”

Paul was granted his heart’s desire. “I have finished my course”, he wrote later, and it was with joy. Not with money or earthly possessions, because he wrote from a dark dungeon,
needing his cloak and parchments, not with a host of friends, for all men forsook him. Not with fame, for he died a martyr; but he finished with joy, anticipating a crown. Just as the
last day of the year anticipates a new year, so journey’s end for the Christian is but the end of a prelude. “To depart and be with Christ is far better.” There are no “turns for the
worse”. “To die is gain”, so even death is a paying proposition. It was for the joy that was set before Him, that our Lord endured the cross, despising the shame; and looking unto
Him we run with patience and finish with joy. Some who have known “starting” grace and “sustaining” grace have grown careless about “finishing” grace. What fools we can
be on the last mile. Be sure to make your last testimony the joy of journey’s end!

MAY THE LORD MAKE HIS FACE TO SHINE UPON YOU. AMEN.

Shared by Bob Harris