# Finish What God Started
Finish What God Started:
The Power of Perseverance in Faith
There's something profoundly challenging about the simple command: "See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord." These words, written to a man named Archippus in Colossians 4:17, echo across centuries to speak directly into our lives today.
Archippus appears only twice in Scripture—once as a "fellow soldier" and once as someone who needed to be reminded to finish his assignment. This brevity makes the message even more powerful. If God preserved these words in His eternal Word, they must carry weight for all of us.
## The Danger of "I Quit"
Two of the most dangerous words a Christian can utter are "I quit." Not because we won't face moments when quitting feels like the only option, but because giving up on what God has called us to do means abandoning divine purpose for temporary relief.
Let's be honest: following Christ comes with a guarantee of getting hurt. Not everyone will appreciate your faith. Some people will dislike you simply because you stand for biblical truth. The world doesn't always celebrate those who refuse to compromise their convictions.
But here's the truth we must embrace: when God calls you to something, He doesn't make mistakes. He sees something in you that you may not see in yourself. He knows your heart when others only see your exterior. He understands your potential when you're still measuring yourself by past failures.
## When God Calls the "Unlikely"
Consider this: the person who barely graduated high school, who struggled with a stuttering problem so severe they would often choose silence over speech, who thought college was an impossibility—that person can become exactly what God needs them to be.
God specializes in using the unlikely. He takes the weak and makes them strong. He takes the uncertain and fills them with confidence. He takes those who feel unqualified and equips them completely.
One person's journey to Bible college illustrates this beautifully. After years of farming, exhausted and uncertain, they heard God's call at 3 AM. Within days, sitting in a guidance counselor's office, they received a full scholarship—not because of impressive grades or natural eloquence, but because God finishes what He starts.
This is the pattern throughout Scripture and throughout history: God doesn't call the equipped; He equips the called.
## The Apostle Paul's Example
Paul, the great apostle, understood this principle deeply. He wrote to Timothy: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7). These weren't the words of someone who had it easy. They were the declaration of a man who had been beaten, imprisoned, shipwrecked, and rejected—yet who refused to quit.
Earlier in his ministry, Paul wrote something even more striking: "However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace" (Acts 20:24).
Read that again slowly. Paul considered his life worth nothing except for completing his God-given assignment. That's not morbid; it's purposeful. It's the heart of someone who has discovered that nothing in this world compares to fulfilling divine calling.
## The Ultimate Example
But the greatest example of finishing what was started comes from Jesus Himself. Hours before His crucifixion, He prayed: "I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do" (John 17:4).
Think about the context. Jesus knew what awaited Him: betrayal, arrest, torture, and crucifixion. He knew that within hours, He would have a crown of thorns pressed into His skull, that blood would trickle into His eyes with no way to wipe it away, that His beaten back would scrape against rough wood, that spikes would pierce His hands and feet.
Yet He said, "I finished the work."
And on the cross, with His final breath, He declared: "It is finished" (John 19:30).
This wasn't resignation; it was victory. Jesus completed the most important assignment in human history, and He did it despite unimaginable opposition and suffering.
## What God Has Called You To Do
So what has God called you to do? Maybe it's not preaching or missions work. Perhaps He's called you to be a faithful witness to your neighbor—which, by the way, is one of the hardest assignments there is. Maybe He's called you to serve in ways that seem small but have eternal significance.
Whatever it is, the same God who called you will equip you. The same God who started the work in you "will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6).
But here's the catch: you have free will. God won't force you to complete what He's started. You can choose to quit. You can choose to let discouragement, hurt, or fear stop you in your tracks.
## When the Enemy Attacks
Understand this: when God calls you to something, the enemy hates it. His entire strategy is to get you off track. He showed up in the Garden of Eden, in the wilderness during Jesus' temptation, and in Gethsemane before the crucifixion. He'll show up in your life too, whispering that you don't need to continue, that it's too hard, that you're not qualified.
When those whispers come, remember: "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world" (1 John 4:4). You overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony.
Yes, you'll get knocked down. But you get back up. You ask God for strength, and you keep going.
## The Food That Sustains
Jesus told His disciples something peculiar: "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work" (John 4:34).
What sustained Jesus wasn't physical bread but spiritual purpose. When doing God's will becomes your sustenance, when finishing His work becomes your primary motivation, you tap into a source of strength that transcends circumstances.
## Your Finish Line
Imagine a closer in baseball, playing his final game. The crowd erupts in appreciation as he walks off the mound for the last time, tears streaming down his face—not from sadness, but from the satisfaction of finishing well.
That's how we should want to finish our race. Maybe we won't get a standing ovation on earth, but heaven will celebrate those who complete what God started.
## The Call to Persevere
So today, put your name in that verse: "[Your name], see to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord."
Don't let past failures define your future. Don't let current difficulties derail your destiny. Don't let the enemy's lies convince you to abandon your assignment.
Instead, remember: if God called you, He will equip you. If He started something in your life, He's faithful to complete it—as long as you're willing to keep walking forward.
Finish what God started. The world needs you to complete your assignment. Heaven is cheering you on. And one day, you'll stand before Jesus and hear those beautiful words: "Well done, good and faithful servant."
That's worth fighting for. That's worth finishing for.
The Power of Perseverance in Faith
There's something profoundly challenging about the simple command: "See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord." These words, written to a man named Archippus in Colossians 4:17, echo across centuries to speak directly into our lives today.
Archippus appears only twice in Scripture—once as a "fellow soldier" and once as someone who needed to be reminded to finish his assignment. This brevity makes the message even more powerful. If God preserved these words in His eternal Word, they must carry weight for all of us.
## The Danger of "I Quit"
Two of the most dangerous words a Christian can utter are "I quit." Not because we won't face moments when quitting feels like the only option, but because giving up on what God has called us to do means abandoning divine purpose for temporary relief.
Let's be honest: following Christ comes with a guarantee of getting hurt. Not everyone will appreciate your faith. Some people will dislike you simply because you stand for biblical truth. The world doesn't always celebrate those who refuse to compromise their convictions.
But here's the truth we must embrace: when God calls you to something, He doesn't make mistakes. He sees something in you that you may not see in yourself. He knows your heart when others only see your exterior. He understands your potential when you're still measuring yourself by past failures.
## When God Calls the "Unlikely"
Consider this: the person who barely graduated high school, who struggled with a stuttering problem so severe they would often choose silence over speech, who thought college was an impossibility—that person can become exactly what God needs them to be.
God specializes in using the unlikely. He takes the weak and makes them strong. He takes the uncertain and fills them with confidence. He takes those who feel unqualified and equips them completely.
One person's journey to Bible college illustrates this beautifully. After years of farming, exhausted and uncertain, they heard God's call at 3 AM. Within days, sitting in a guidance counselor's office, they received a full scholarship—not because of impressive grades or natural eloquence, but because God finishes what He starts.
This is the pattern throughout Scripture and throughout history: God doesn't call the equipped; He equips the called.
## The Apostle Paul's Example
Paul, the great apostle, understood this principle deeply. He wrote to Timothy: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7). These weren't the words of someone who had it easy. They were the declaration of a man who had been beaten, imprisoned, shipwrecked, and rejected—yet who refused to quit.
Earlier in his ministry, Paul wrote something even more striking: "However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace" (Acts 20:24).
Read that again slowly. Paul considered his life worth nothing except for completing his God-given assignment. That's not morbid; it's purposeful. It's the heart of someone who has discovered that nothing in this world compares to fulfilling divine calling.
## The Ultimate Example
But the greatest example of finishing what was started comes from Jesus Himself. Hours before His crucifixion, He prayed: "I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do" (John 17:4).
Think about the context. Jesus knew what awaited Him: betrayal, arrest, torture, and crucifixion. He knew that within hours, He would have a crown of thorns pressed into His skull, that blood would trickle into His eyes with no way to wipe it away, that His beaten back would scrape against rough wood, that spikes would pierce His hands and feet.
Yet He said, "I finished the work."
And on the cross, with His final breath, He declared: "It is finished" (John 19:30).
This wasn't resignation; it was victory. Jesus completed the most important assignment in human history, and He did it despite unimaginable opposition and suffering.
## What God Has Called You To Do
So what has God called you to do? Maybe it's not preaching or missions work. Perhaps He's called you to be a faithful witness to your neighbor—which, by the way, is one of the hardest assignments there is. Maybe He's called you to serve in ways that seem small but have eternal significance.
Whatever it is, the same God who called you will equip you. The same God who started the work in you "will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6).
But here's the catch: you have free will. God won't force you to complete what He's started. You can choose to quit. You can choose to let discouragement, hurt, or fear stop you in your tracks.
## When the Enemy Attacks
Understand this: when God calls you to something, the enemy hates it. His entire strategy is to get you off track. He showed up in the Garden of Eden, in the wilderness during Jesus' temptation, and in Gethsemane before the crucifixion. He'll show up in your life too, whispering that you don't need to continue, that it's too hard, that you're not qualified.
When those whispers come, remember: "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world" (1 John 4:4). You overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony.
Yes, you'll get knocked down. But you get back up. You ask God for strength, and you keep going.
## The Food That Sustains
Jesus told His disciples something peculiar: "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work" (John 4:34).
What sustained Jesus wasn't physical bread but spiritual purpose. When doing God's will becomes your sustenance, when finishing His work becomes your primary motivation, you tap into a source of strength that transcends circumstances.
## Your Finish Line
Imagine a closer in baseball, playing his final game. The crowd erupts in appreciation as he walks off the mound for the last time, tears streaming down his face—not from sadness, but from the satisfaction of finishing well.
That's how we should want to finish our race. Maybe we won't get a standing ovation on earth, but heaven will celebrate those who complete what God started.
## The Call to Persevere
So today, put your name in that verse: "[Your name], see to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord."
Don't let past failures define your future. Don't let current difficulties derail your destiny. Don't let the enemy's lies convince you to abandon your assignment.
Instead, remember: if God called you, He will equip you. If He started something in your life, He's faithful to complete it—as long as you're willing to keep walking forward.
Finish what God started. The world needs you to complete your assignment. Heaven is cheering you on. And one day, you'll stand before Jesus and hear those beautiful words: "Well done, good and faithful servant."
That's worth fighting for. That's worth finishing for.
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