Approved

2 Timothy 4:⁷ “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.” (emphasis added).

It is all about your faith. The battle within, the battle around, and the battle against is all about your faith. Just like Jesus prayed for Peter, again I pray for you, that your faith will not fail in the Mighty Name of Jesus. Over the next few days, we are going to turn our focus to finishing strong. In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, you will finish strong (say Amen). 2 Timothy 4:⁷ “I have fought an excellent fight. I have finished my full course with all my might and I’ve kept my heart full of faith.” (TPT, emphasis added). This is Paul speaking to his spiritual son, Timothy, and again highlighting faithfulness. Paul is an amazing man; imagine looking at your own life and saying you have fought an excellent fight.

Hebrews 11 has the names of a group of people who were victorious at the end, people who finished strong. Interestingly, the first person mentioned in Hebrews 11 is Abel. Abel finished strong; by faith, he offered a sacrifice that was more acceptable than that of his brother, Cain. The Bible talks about Abraham, Samson, David, and others finishing strong. It also talked about the women who received the promises. I pray in the Name of Jesus that when that row call is made in eternity, your name will be listed as one of those who finished strong.

However, when we look at the lives of these people, we see that living by faith actually involves pain. You cannot live by faith if you always live purely by your feelings. Acknowledge how you feel, but your feelings do not have to become or define your reality. It is your faith that should define your reality. Please read Hebrews 11:35–Hebrews 12:4. The first thing that stands out when you read this passage is that these were ‘Old Testament’ people, but they put their hope in the resurrection of a better life. Secondly, we see the details of the challenges they experienced. And the scriptures say they received God’s approval because of their faith.

Faith Does Not Spare Us From All Pain! We need to get this so that we do not shipwreck our faith. Do not confuse the fact that ‘you are a child of God’ with ‘your life will be without pain’. God did not say that. But God says you will have victory here on earth and in eternity. According to bbc.com, “two-thirds of the 2.3 billion Christians in the world today live in dangerous neighborhoods”. Dangerous neighbourhoods mean their lives are threatened, they can be martyred at any time. Two out of three Christians! Huge! Faith does not exempt us from pain.

Prayer: Father, help me to only define my reality by my faith, empower me to finish strong and by faith despite the challenges of life, and win Your approval, in Jesus Mighty Name. Amen!