Finishing Well

Genesis 25:8–9

DON’T CRY for Abraham. Don’t mourn his death. Don’t grieve his departure. Rejoice! Celebrate him. Look at what he made of his life and his final years on earth.

I’ve said all along that Abraham’s story is our story. This particular narrative of how he died a satisfied man holds at least two valuable secrets to our finishing well. One has to do with being faithful; the other has to do with being diligent.

The first secret: faithfully remember that each day offers opportunities for staying young at heart.

Each morning you wake up with a fresh opportunity to live that day well, to see your next twenty-four hours as a series of choices. The Lord has granted you a genuine stake in what the day holds. Choose a positive attitude. Choose to seek out and focus on the good things. Choose to face your opportunities with eager anticipation. Choose to set aside your own expectations, and then embrace what God chooses to do. Choose to live in a constant state of surprise by laying aside your will and letting the Lord’s will unfold.

The second secret: diligently refuse to give up.

Determine that you will never stop living until someone puts a mirror under your nose and there’s no fog. Never stop. Never give up.

A biographer of baseball player Satchel Paige writes, “Told all his life that black lives matter less than white ones, he teased journalists by adding or subtracting years each time they asked his age, then asked them, ‘How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were?'”

That’s a thought-provoking question, isn’t it? So how old are you?

REFLECT

What would it look like for you to stay young at heart? Is there a pursuit you have abandoned that you need to take up again with renewed passion?

Let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.

GALATIANS 6:9

Has God worked in your life in a significant way through Chuck Swindoll and the ministry of Insight for Living? Whatever your story, we’d love for you to tell it to us! Psalm 9:11 tells us to “declare among the peoples His deeds” so others can be encouraged. Submit your story.