09
May '22
Let Me Be Frank… finish strong
09
May '22
So don’t sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet! Clear the path for long-distance runners so no one will trip and fall, so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. Help each other out. And run for it!
Hebrews 12:12-13 (MSG)
How fast could you run if you knew where the finish line was?
Some of you may answer that question with, “How big is the animal that is chasing me?” Let’s say the animal is big, really big. So, how fast could you run? With the proper motivation, everyone could get across that line.
It’s been almost seventeen years since my dad died. I used to be able to hear his voice clearly in my head, but what I remember of the sound of his voice has faded over time. That is, except this song. I only hear his voice singing it. He never reached for the high note on the word “then” in the chorus, he just let it ring. And his voice filled our tiny church.
Until Then (by Carl Stuart Hamblen)
Verse 1: My heart can sing when I pause to remember
A heartache here is but a stepping stone
Along a trail that’s winding always upwards.
This troubled world is not my final home.
But until then my heart will go on singing,
Until then with joy I’ll carry on;
Until the day my eyes behold the city,
Until the day God calls me home.
Verse 1: My heart can sing when I pause to remember
A heartache here is but a stepping stone
Along a trail that’s winding always upwards.
This troubled world is not my final home.
But until then my heart will go on singing,
Until then with joy I’ll carry on;
Until the day my eyes behold the city,
Until the day God calls me home.
Some days are harder than others. I think you would agree with me. But my dad left me a parting gift when he left this world. Aside from the wisdom and the crazy antics, he left me this song. And the writer of Hebrews sums up the intent of the song so beautifully. Don’t sit around on your hands. Don’t make excuses. Don’t drag your feet. Until the day He calls us home, we keep running our race.
I have been trying to run long distances for awhile. I have to stop and rest after two miles. My lungs don’t want me to continue. But I’m not finished.
Maybe this is you. Days when the finish line seems so far away and it’s hard to breathe. You’re not finished. Help those alongside you to reach the goal. And don’t forget to let your heart sing. When the race gets hard and you want to give in, press in to the JOY that the Lord has for you. This joy comes from Him, not our current circumstances. His JOY helps us to continue. We finish strong because we know that we run the race together and we’re all headed for that glorious finish in Christ.
But until then my heart will go on singing,
Until then with joy I’ll carry on;
Until the day my eyes behold the city,
Until the day God calls me home.
Until then with joy I’ll carry on;
Until the day my eyes behold the city,
Until the day God calls me home.
Father, rain on our land and reign in our hearts. Help us to finish strong. May it be so.
Soli Deo Gloria!
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