FINISH FAITHFUL

Still in Hebrews. I have been reading chapter 3 over a few times. I found myself skimming 3-6 so I decided to go back AGAIN. Two verses that have struck me from this chapter are 3:14 & 19.
They go wonderfully together.
Verse 14
For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.

Verse 19
So we see that they (Israelites in the wilderness) could not enter in because of their unbelief.

It does not matter how far you run your race, you have to finish. It does not matter if you get to the edge of your promise land, you have to finish. It does not matter if you served the Lord as a child and walked away as an adult, you have to finish.
What causes us to not finish? Unbelief.Unbelief for the big stuff. Unbelief for the little stuff. Unbelief because things did not go how we thought they would have, or should have, or could have. Unbelief because the life we thought we were going to have did not come to pass. Unbelief because we got our feelings hurt, we got ignored, we got humiliated by man and we think God will do the same. Unbelief that starts chipping away at us from the get go. Unbelief that can be traced right up to the very start. Unbelief is sneaky. It may disguise itself as "realistic" or "grounded". It tells us that it is just the way things are and there is nothing we can do about it. It clings to our legs and weighs us down as we run our race. It tries to convince us we can not finish and there is no point in trying. But there is a point in trying. To become partakers with Christ. To see all His glorious works completed. To be standing there on that day and hear the words good and faithful. Unbelief tries to steal that from us. It tells us of a god who is not faithful. It tells us of a god who is not good. That is not God.
Is the race hard? Yes, at times it is. Are there hills and valleys? Yes, there are. We will be tempted to quit? Many times. Quit our marriages, quit our ministries, quit our kids and our families. We must hold onto to Christ as desperately as we did in the moment we surrendered to Him. Hold on till the very end. Our reward is on the other side of that finish line. We must cross it wearing the colors of our King. Bloodied and scrapped up, but clothed in His righteousness.
Finish faithful my friends. FINISH FAITHFUL!