Trust me, as in all battles I have had many wonderful opportunities to re-evaluate that choice. But my intention has been to cross the goal. And every day I experience greater degrees of God’s reality! However, everyday, and in every difficulty I have to choose to focus on the promise or the problem, the end or the injury, the fear or the faith, the word or the worry! Even in times of pain and struggle, the promise is still sure.
Keeping hope alive is essential to finishing the race. Paul teaches us that we can wait patiently, without wavering, as long as hope stays alive. But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently (Rom 8:25, NIV). Too often, we start the race in real faith. But along the way, we feel that God has let us down. This is what the Bible calls “vain faith.”
Vain faith is real, it really trusts and believes God. And it may be the most deceptive of all the battles of the believer. Why? It is called vain faith because it does not endure till the end. Any genuine effort that is not brought to completion was done in vain. Vain faith emerges while we are walking out the process of persuading our heart. When hope is not alive, patience fades and wavering gives rise to vain faith. Vain faith says, “See you believed, you trusted God, and you still didn’t get your miracle. God let you down!” It is then that real faith turns to vain faith.
But you can recover. The moment you realize you have been deceived, you simply “Get Up!” Yes! It’s that easy! I want to share the principles of Faith that Finishes. These are the things I have learned walking through incurable diseases, financial disaster, and insurmountable obstacles of real life. You too can take your faith that arises in your heart in the beginning of the problem, and finish the race, win the prize, and walk in the promise.
