Start to Finish

It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

We’ve all heard that said about the Christian life…and it’s really true.

King Asa accelerated out of the starting blocks like Usain Bolt. Early in his reign over Judah he removed foreign altars and pagan shrines. “He smashed sacred pillars and commanded the people of Judah to seek the Lord and obey His commands” (2 Chronicles 14:3).

So far so good.

And as a result his kingdom enjoyed peace, “for the Lord was giving him rest from his enemies” (2 Chronicles 14:6).

In fact, when the king of Ethiopia marched against Asa with a million foot soldiers, “God defeated the Ethiopians in the presence of Asa and the army of Judah” (2 Chronicles 14:12).

Unfortunately, and for reasons we are not told, Asa was in a sprint towards God and not a marathon.

And God saw the problem coming.

On Asa’s way home from the huge victory over the Ethiopians, God sends the prophet Azariah out to meet Asa with this message…

“Listen carefully, Asa, God will stick with you as long as you stick with Him. If you look for Him, He will let Himself be found; but if you leave Him, He’ll leave you” (2 Chronicles 15 The Message).

Unfortunately, Asa didn’t take the warning to heart and the last years of his reign were marked by self-reliance, arrogance and compromises with the enemy.

Asa did not adopt a life-long posture of reliance on God alone. He neither stuck with God or looked for Him all the way to the finish line…putting the Lord’s prophets in prison and abusing the people (2 Chronicles 16).

There is a lot of this Christian life that is on us.

Yes, God is the initiator of our relationship with Him.

Yes, we are drawn to Him only by the work of the Holy Spirit.

Yes, the Christian life is the work of God’s grace in us from start to finish.

BUT, we are not lifeless automatons in this partnership of the Spirit.

Scripture is filled, from Genesis to Revelation, with thousands of “ifs.”

If we draw near… He will draw near (James 4:8).

If we stick with Him… He will stick with us.

If we look for Him… He will be found by us.

And it is the challenge of those “ifs” that keep us running the marathon all… the… way… to the finish line.