There’s a starting point and a finish line. If either one is missing it’s not a race.

“ … I have finished the race … “ II Timothy 4:7 NIV

Every race has a starting point and a finish line.

No GPS is capable of getting you to a destination without first knowing where you are starting from. A Christian’s race begins at conversion, but every morning we begin another leg of our spiritual journey. And because it’s a spiritual race, where we begin each day is not so much a matter of physical location but where we are spiritually.

That’s why the Psalmist asked God to search his heart and reveal its contents. (“Examine me God, from head to foot, order your battery of tests. Make sure I’m fit inside and out … “ Psalm 26:2 The Message). No serious pilot ever leaves the ground without doing a thorough inspection of his plane.

Now that I’m ready to run I really need to know where the finish line is.

I once saw a pastor illustrate this point in a Sunday morning service. He picked out two high school guys who volunteered for a race. A bit of teenage bragging rights were enough to bring the boys to the starting line at the front of the church.

The atmosphere was permeated with their unbridled desire to get the race underway. They stood impatiently side by side as the pastor prepared to ‘drop the flag.’ At the ‘ready, set, go’ they were off, sprinting to be the first to the side aisle. Somewhere near the back of the sanctuary, something changed. You could sense both of them hesitate as they realized they had no idea where the finish line was.

They would stutter then sprint, then slow a bit to consider what was going on and eventually they both came to a stop when they realized that without a finish line nobody could win! Running a race that has no finish line is frustrating and confusing.

The Apostle Paul was serious about his race. He spoke of the finish line in Philippians 3:12 ^“”I don’t mean to say I am perfect. I haven’t learned all I should even yet, but I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ saved me for and wants me to be.” Philippians 3:12 NLT Paul is not only trying to reach heaven, but desperately wants to become everything God saved him to become. That was his finish line!

This week run strong, press into God with determination and strength of heart. He’s the only one who can help you attain the destiny and destination He’s chosen for you.

“I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God,

through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” Philippians 3:14 NLT