“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:6-7
Paul, the writer of 2 Timothy, is in jail at this time knowing that he is close to death. Paul is reaching this point of being content in any and all situations and is showing that here. He is saying that he has fought the good fight. He has finished the race. He has kept the faith through every terrible trial and situation he has been in and is now ready to die. He has come to the understanding that it is going to happen, he can’t do anything about it, and has lived his life to the fullest serving Jesus in every way possible.
So the question then is how do we do this? How do we run the race of life and be content in the end with what we have done in life?
There’s a few big things you can do to help. One of the biggest ones is when you are running through life on mission with Jesus, and you stumble, is to not just sit there. We have a merciful, loving, and gracious God. Accept His forgiveness, try your best to change, and then get up and keep going. Use God's grace to continue to run even when you stumble. Grace is such an amazing gift and when you use it correctly, nothing can stop you. King David was an adulterous lying man but God still called him a man after His heart. Why? Because no matter how many times David stumbled, he got back up and used God's grace to keep going. He continued on mission right where he left off. He wasn’t on the ground for very long before he got up either.
So when you stumble on the race we call life, get up and keep going. Don’t excuse the sin, but rather don’t let it hold you back once you repent and accept Jesus’s forgiveness on it. Being content is all about joy and trying your best, not happiness. If you want to be content in every situation, have joy in God even when you aren’t happy in this life and try your absolute best to follow God. All He wants is your heart, your whole heart. Give Him that and you will have peace and joy in every situation.
By: Josh Toney
