2 Corinthians 8:10-11
10: And in this I give advice: It is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and were desiring to do a
year ago; 11: but now you also must complete the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to desire it, so there also
may be a completion out of what you have.
“The job is not done until it’s done…” my dad would say as I rushed to finish washing the dishes with
half-heartedly. Many times I would get the same little saying thrown at my face, as I would leave a task unfinished. Little did
I know that this voice from my childhood would haunt me even as an adult when I opened up my Bible the other day to read
what God’s Word had in store for me.
What were you doing a year ago for the Lord? It’s funny because yesterday while in prayer I was thinking about last
year. The year of “The Storm” as I call it because of all that happened in my personal life as well as to the nation as a
whole. A year ago I was wrestling in the heavenly realm through prayer, and ministry-wise I was active doing a lot of things
at my church. But what about now? One year can make a difference in anyone’s life. So many changes, so many goals and
that period of three hundred and sixty-five days can make all the difference between accomplishing those goals and giving
up all together.
Have you ever started something with fervor, passion, and eagerness but as time passed bye your passion of fire was
snuffed out? You have no longer the time or the effort to complete the task set before you. I think this happens to young
people a lot, because we aren’t afraid to try something new. We adapt to change very easily. The latest “trend” or “in
thing” comes and goes and as easily we pick up things, we drop them like a sack of potatoes…but that is not how God
view things. Through Paul, God gives us some fatherly advice, especially to those in the ministry.
He says “It is to your advantage…” which means it will benefit your life, your character, to be faithful. It will give you a
vantage point when you complete what God has put in your hands, whether or not, the desire you had in the beginning is
present! We need to learn not to be swept away by our emotions. The Bible says that God puts the desire and will to do His
good pleasure. In other words, if it is a God-idea, unction, or plan it will last and He will give you the strength to carry it out
through the end. Christ never gives up on us, in Philippians 1:6 it says that He will complete the good work that He has
begun in our lives- God desires from us faithfulness, consistency, and determination at whatever we do for Him, and for that
matter all the things we do in life. If Jesus doesn’t give up on us, why do we give up so easily? Just because things don’t
go our way, time doesn’t permit, or the turn out wasn’t a success numerically doesn’t mean we need to move on to the
next thing. I am tired of seeing in the churches a lazy spirit of leaving the job half-way done! God’s calling is irrevocable, it
doesn’t change and can’t be taken back. Once you answer the call you must fulfill it to your highest potential. Christ will
require of you on that day, what have you done with what He has left in your hands?
What does it mean to complete? For me it means that when your time in that ministry is up and you leave, others will be
able to continue the job and things won’t fall apart! Take for example Moses and Joshua. Moses completed the task set
before him. Had he obeyed God he would have entered the promise land, but he hit the rock and disobeyed. Sometimes our
disobedience would lead us to see the fulfillment of our job from afar off. Anyways, Moses completed his job and passed
his ministry onto Joshua, the man God wanted and called to conquer the land. The same with Elijah and Elisha (who
received a double portion of that anointing to finish the ministry) God is looking for someone to take up the mantle of
completion. God desires that we come full circle in our plans. Just like there was an eagerness to do it in the beginning, we
need to actually be eager to finish it. I believe that many lose the passion because the let the vision God gave them be lost.
They take their eyes off of Jesus and put it on man and because of this many will drop out of the race but it is to their loss.
We gain when we are faithful to what is entrusted to us. We become men and woman that are trustworthy and integral
before God. People will respect us as men/women of God when we finish the race. They will see our faithfulness and model
it. So let us follow the advice of our heavenly Father and remember that the job is not done until it’s done until God says it
is finished!
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