Finish the Course
By Tom Gilbreath
I had a friend who, in his elderly years found it increasingly difficult to stay awake behind the wheel. One day he had been driving home and was especially tired. He fought off sleep the whole way. Then, he entered his own neighborhood and thought, “Good. I made it.”
When he woke up, he thought, “What am I doing in these people’s backyard?” Instantly after relaxing because he was close to home, he had fallen asleep, then drove down a slight embankment into a neighbor’s backyard. He had relaxed too soon.
Don’t misunderstand. Rest is a good thing. God built a day of rest into His schedule for humanity (Exodus 23:12) and for Himself (Genesis 2:2). Psalms 37:7 says, “Rest in the Lord.” To be at ease in Him means to fully trust in Him. He holds you and will not drop you. Deuteronomy 33:27 says, “The eternal God is your refuge, And underneath are the everlasting arms.”
You can rest easy in Him. The danger comes when we rest in riches or other things of this world.
In Luke 12:15, Jesus said, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” Then He illustrated this point with a parable. He told about a rich man whose “ground… yielded plentifully.” He created a scheme to preserve his wealth, a scheme that thrilled him. In verse 19 the man said, “I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.’”
This is the opposite of “resting in the Lord.” Instead of trusting God, this man trusted his wealth. He said to himself, “Take your ease.” It’s my ease. By my cunning, I have given it to myself. Somehow, I made the ground increase its yield. I made it rain. I earned it all.
Then comes a startling turn in the Lord’s story. “But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
When we are not “rich toward God,” our cleverness and the things we acquire come to nothing. Don’t focus your life on a private paradise that will soon pass away. Instead, work toward being able to say with Paul the words of 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
Rest in the Lord — not in your wealth, or the wealth of your country, or the ingenuity of your political leaders, no matter how great they may be. Here in America, we rejoice that we live in such a wonderful place. But it is not heaven. Even in our abundance, we must recognize that our nation has deep problems. And the deepest ones are not political, but spiritual.
Continue “the good fight.” Realize that we are still in a spiritual battle zone. Finish “the race.” Don’t relax too soon. Fulfill God’s calling in your life. We will soon be going home, either by death or by rapture. What we do in this world, we must do quickly.
Keep the faith.
