Daily devotion – Finishing the race…
Hebrews 12:1
“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” – Hebrews 12:1 (KJV)
We are all in a race—a race that God Himself has laid out for each of us. The duration and difficulty of that race are not ours to choose; they rest in God’s sovereign plan. But one thing is certain: we must all run—and we must finish.
Some begin their race with zeal, bursting out of the blocks with great enthusiasm. Others begin at a steady, measured pace. But today, I see far too many believers who start well, only to slow down, get distracted, or even stop running altogether.
Paul gives us a sobering warning in 2 Timothy 3:5–7 about such people:
“…having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
These are people who may have once been committed to prayer, signed up to serve, or attended faithfully—but have since drawn back, distracted by the world or disillusioned by the cost of discipleship.
They are like those described in Hebrews 5:12–13:
“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God… unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.”
Sadly, some treat the Christian life like a “get-rich-quick” scheme—hoping to gain from God without ever submitting to the discipline required to grow in Him.
So, I ask you: Are you a finisher?
Are you running your race with endurance?
Are you pressing on toward the prize and giving all you have in service to the Lord?
Let us be found faithful—vessels fit for the Master’s use. When God looks for someone through whom He can work, may He find in us hearts that are willing, steady, and strong.
Let us run—and let us finish well.