Finish Strong!!

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 There's a famous saying, "Well begun is half done". Recently I've been wondering if it holds good for Christian life. 

I was reading 1 Kings and looking at the life of Solomon, the wisest man in history. A life that began so well ended in despair. The man who wrote most of the Proverbs and instructed how to lead a righteous life lost his way. The man to whom the Lord appeared twice, became insensitive to the voice of God in the end. 

On the other hand, I couldn't help but think of Paul's words when he said with gleaming confidence, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

How could there be such a huge difference? One man had a good beginning and a bad finish. Another man persisted in the faith to which he had been called.

I guess, I can say that King Solomon let his heart control his life. Yes, his life began so well and he is the wisest king in history. But eventually, he let his heart have its way. His mind might have known to not lean on his own understanding, but his heart sang another song. Although I am no one to judge such a great king, his life offers an important lesson.

On the contrary, I guess the secret behind Paul's persistence is his 'renewed mind' which guarded his heart. As Paul writes to the Romans, "Beloved friends, what should be our proper response to God’s marvelous mercies? To surrender yourselves to God to be his sacred, living sacrifices. And live in holiness, experiencing all that delights his heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship. Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you,  but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes." (Romans 12:1,2 - TPT).  The knowledge of the Lord reforms how we think. When this renewed mind influences the heart, our actions are changed and our lives will be living sacrifices to our God. 

The renewed mind should control the heart. I don’t intend to make 'heart' the villain here but we need to remember that heart is deceitful above all things. When our heart is not guarded we tend to fail. But when this heart is nurtured by the renewed mind through the Holy spirit, we yield the glorious Fruit.

In these end times, where the common phrase we hear is 'Follow your heart', may God give us grace to be sensitive to His voice and follow His heart with a renewed mind, so that our lives will be living sacrifices to Him.  Well begun might be half done, but our aim is to finish strong like Paul. May God help us to be in constant communion with Him daily and transform ourselves into His image by renewing our minds, guarding our hearts and ultimately finishing strong!! 



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