Finishing well

Recently I felt like reading the book on 'Finishing Well' by David Wong again. I have read this book several times but I still felt that the message offered me new perspective every time I read it. We are so prone to forget what we have learnt in the past and the Holy Spirit is the One who brings to remembrance. God reminded me with Isaiah 48:6 'You have heard; see all this. And will you not declare it? I have made you hear new things from this time; even hidden things, and you did not know them.'

Then as I read my journals from July 2011, I saw that God was leading me through a review of the past three years in my old company. It was like looking back before God moved me on to the next stage. I knew He was doing a new thing and He also assured me that I have closed the previous chapter of my life well. What I didn't know was that new thing is not about having another baby but about my care group (CG) ministry work, which He has embarked me on. As I read those, I really felt like deja vu. The messages He told me then was exactly what He has been telling me for the past few months. I knew the importance of closing each chapter of my life well because of the impact it would have on the next chapter.

I know too well that many started well but few finish well. I want to be amongst those who finish well. It's not hard to start something but it's difficult to finish well. It takes patience and endurance to finish well. Patience is better than pride. The end of a matter is better than its beginning. Closure is as much a part of life as change. Whenever change takes place, there is usually some form of closure. Each change brings with it a new beginning but each beginning is preceded by an ending. That's why when God comes to me with a message that He is doing new things (like verses connoting divine shifts), I am excited. I know that He has also come to complete the good work that He started in me. How we end one chapter is important as how we begin the next.

What is the definition of finishing well? Towards God, it means faithfulness to our calling. Our focus is how we live in order to finish the race and complete the assignment God has for us. As much as I wanted to move on to my childbearing season in those years, I put His will above mine. I don't know and I don't want to speculate when my appointed time will be. All I know was that I have to shepherd my sheep and care for the sheep entrusted to me well. I just did what I knew to do and leave the childbearing issue to the Lord.

Secondly towards ourselves, it means a clear conscience. To know that we have discharged our responsibilities with integrity so that we have no cause to feel guilty at unfulfilled obligations and unkept promises. I remember telling the Lord not to put them through the pain of feeling abandoned like they did when our previous CG leader had to step down suddenly. And the Lord did it. I held on to the mantle until another person was ready to step up. I wanted to finish well so that they would give me their blessings when I move on.

Finally, finishing well involves relationships. Towards others, it means the value we place on people and the difference we make to their lives. What we have accomplished in this world will be measured by the lives of people we have touched. I want to be known as a leader who has been faithful to the end. You know, when I saw that the CG is functioning well without me, when the legacy of God's love and care is passed down to them, my heart is so relieved. And that was when I knew that should God move me on from this CG, all will be well with my sheep for He deeply cares for them.