Have you ever read or listened to a Bible verse countless times and then one day you understand it like never before? That happened to me recently at church. It was part of the verse from Hebrews 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith…”
I write professionally, and I often teach aspiring authors at writing conferences. One of the things I’ve seen time and time again is that they want to write books, but they never finish them—so the line about Jesus being not only the author, but the finisher, really stuck out at me. Here’s the thing that really spoke to my soul: If God calls me to do something, and I don’t finish it, that task is either left undone or someone else will get the blessing of finishing it.
Sometimes the tasks God’s calls us to can be hard. They can take us way out of our comfort zones. They can require commitment, time and even sacrifice. And sometimes fear can derail us along the way.
I felt that way as I began my writing career. When I first heard God’s whispers to my heart that He wanted me to write for Him, I focused on all the ways that I couldn’t do it. I even told God, “Have you happened to notice that I can’t write?”
And He replied, “No, you can’t, but I can. You just be willing, and I’ll take care of the rest.” I can tell you now with the beauty of hindsight that God has been so faithful to me every step of the way. Because of that, I want to be just as faithful to Him. I want to be not only the author who wants to write the books that He puts on my heart, but I also want to be the “finisher” of every task He asks me to do.
How about you, sweet friend? Is there something God has called you to do, and you haven’t finished it? Today would be the perfect time to become the “author and finisher” of whatever job He’s asked you to do.
