Finish strong. Finish on time. Finish with us.

A guest post from Jennifer, mentor to group # 21

Have you ever stayed up into the wee hours to finish reading a good book?  Have you been involved in a sport that demanded you practice day after day, show up when tired, forsake other activities just to perfect your ability to hit the ball, run faster, kick higher?  How about your last diet?  How many cookies did you turn away from, and how many extra sit-ups did you force yourself to do so you could shed that last five pounds and fit into the dress?

When you first fell in love, did you give up sleep, watching the game or a favorite TV show, and other important activities just to be able to spend extra moments with your love?  Did your desire for harmony with your love overshadow difficulties you encountered and help you push through circumstances in which you might have otherwise given up?

When the chips are down, do you make it a priority to show up for an important event, even if your schedule is already packed?

This determination, this drive, this focus, this mindset, is what will enable you to catch up in your reading and make it to Revelation 22:21 with the group.  Your resolve that says, ‘No matter what, this matters and it is my highest priority for this season of time.’ will enable you to finish strong with the group on Saturday, October 8^th.

Perhaps you are still w-a-a-a-a-a-y back in Deuteronomy.  Maybe, life struck you a few blows along the way and you are limping, wounded and lacking resolve, because all of your energy is spent getting through your circumstances.  I’m venturing a guess that some are stuck in bed for many hours, finding it difficult even to get up in the morning and face what is in their life right now.  Depression has its fangs in your mind and is urging you to dwell on lies.

Single parent, working mom, homeschooler, death, divorce, sickness, rebellious children, vacations, heartbreak; these have gotten in your way and diverted you from your first Love.  They have stolen your joy and distracted you from the resolve you made when you signed up to read through the Bible in 90 days.

You didn’t sign up to fail, to fall short, or to do it halfway.  You believed in the objective, craved the accountability and prayed for the wisdom and insight it would build into you as you filled your life with His holy word.  You stepped into the challenge as The Little Engine That Could, “I think I can.  I think I can.  I think I can.”  You courageously answered the Holy Spirit’s call on your heart to read the word and make it a priority.

When you did, birds landed on your head saying you’ll never make it.   The sky grew dark; the mountain you were climbing shook under your feet and some of the tracks broke beneath you just as you passed them.  Wolves howled, avalanches threatened to freeze you in your tracks.  You repeated your mantra, “I think I can,” but you shook in fear as you spoke and tears fell as you choked and hiccuped forward uphill, more slowly.

There are now 20 days of mountain climbing tracks left for all of our little engines.  Now is the time to chug ahead, forsaking all else, and all other distractions.  Turn off the TV, don’t sign onto Facebook, stay up an hour later and get up an hour earlier and devote all those extra minutes to reading.  Read while waiting in line, in the restroom, while waiting for the kids, upon waking in the middle of the night…Read.  Read.  Read.  If we make reading and finishing a high priority, treat it as training, as a first love, a new love, if we would skip a meal to spend an extra amount of time catching up, make reading a non-negotiable engagement on our calendar each day, we will finish.  If we keep reading, we will finish.  If we stop reading, we won’t finish.  It’s that simple.

Let us not be surprised by the fiery trials we have encountered as we’ve made our resolve to read through the entire Bible in 90 Days.  The enemy of our souls doesn’t want us to have victory.  But, Jesus, the Author and Perfector of our faith is Victory.  In Him, there is victory over death. Let’s call upon Him now and ask for His victory over our broken spirits, over how behind we are in reading, over our apathy to finish, over our feelings of inability to finish by October 8^th.  Call on Him and ask Him for victory!

The Little Engine’s final words were, “Yes!  I did it, and it was worth it!”  Why was it worth it?  It was worth it because she fought through and beat all the odds along the way.  It was worth it because she pushed, sweated and did whatever it took to carry herself and the toys to the top of the mountain.  It was worth it because she did it in spite of and in the midst of the trials.  It was worth it because she succeeded, and it was especially worth it, because she was so much stronger for having made the climb successfully through those trials and not giving up.

Trials reveal who we really are.  People who sign up to read the entire Bible in 90 days have chutzpah.  They are strong and courageous people with a vision and a heart for obedience and a desire to be closer with GOD.  They are people who can endure the trials they encounter while they are reading, and say to themselves, “I think I can.  I think I can.”  They are people who reach the top of the mountain at Revelation 22:21 and say with a smile, “Yes!  I did it and it was worth it!”