Finish What You Start

Intro:

This week is part six of our series, Lessons From the Wild. I pray that this series has ministered to you in a practical way. This morning, we are picking up in part 6 of the series, and the title of this message is “Finish What You Start”.

The Story:

Every draw hunt, has a specified amount of time. There is a start date and an end date for the tag you have received. As the days go by and you draw near to the final days of the hunt, internally there is a pressure that often begins to build if you haven’t punched your tag.

You want to be successful, but you’re not sure how it is going to turn out. Doubt, despair, frustration, and a myriad of other emotions can begin to swirl inside, and depending on the hunt, the delay of desired success can cause you to drift into thinking that quitting is the answer.

There can be moments of indifference when hope begins to fade where you begin to rationalize quitting and abandon the goal you set out to accomplish. It’s a pull towards comfort and self-protection from disappointment.

Likewise, in our faith, there inevitably seems to come a time in our walk with Christ when we will be tempted to abandon our faith. There are moments where it seems like everything is collapsing, hope is fading, exhaustion has set in, and we face relentless external pressure from circumstances.

When these moments come, what do we do? We endure, and remain steadfast in the faith. Hebrews 10:35-36. 1 Corinthians 15:58. Matthew 24:13.

Hebrews 10:35–36 “Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:”

1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”

Matthew 24:13 “But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”

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Submit:

There is a man in the Scripture who exemplifies this and his name is Job. Job was an upright, faithful, and God-fearing man. Because of his faithfulness, God tremendously blessed his life and set a hedge of protection around him. Job 1:1-3.

Job 1:1–3 “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. And seven sons and three daughters were born to him. Also, his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East.”

If you are unfamiliar with the story of Job, in a single day Job loses everything. His (wealth) oxen, camels, and donkeys were stolen; his servants were killed by those who took them. His sheep were burned up by fire that fell from heaven. His sons and daughters were together in their oldest brother’s house when a great wind came, and the house fell on them, and they died.

What was Job’s response to the most unimaginable adversity and tragedy? Job 1:20–22.

Job 1:20-22 “Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.” In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.”

Every time I read his story, I sit in awe of his response to the devastation of his life. When you continue to read his story. You see that His health is affected, his friends end up leading him through endless theological debates, and they wrongfully accuse him of why he is enduring the adversity.

Yet what you see throughout the book is that Job remains faithful and steadfast. He had moments where he was deep in grief and depression, moments of frustration with his friends, the added weight of his wife telling him to curse God and die, and the desire to present his case to God if it were possible. Yet in all these things, Job doesn’t fault God. He doesn’t cave to the instruction of his wife or to the onslaught of His friends.

What stands out to me most is that when Job couldn’t see the end of the adversity and lacked understanding, his response was worship and endurance, not despair. His initial statement in Job 1reveals a key element of Job’s faith. Job understood that God was in control and worthy of worship in all things. When he received the news, He declares, Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gives, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.

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Apply:

There is something significant and foundational seen in his response that I believe can undergird and strengthen us. Rather than abandoning his faith when everything collapses, Job maintains his trust. What’s powerful about his story is that his character is centered on reverence for God and moral integrity.

Though Job possessed vast resources and stood as the greatest person in his region, his spiritual identity preceded his possessions. He did not cast away his confidence when he didn’t understand.

Like Job, our walk with the Lord must be rooted in authentic faith and reverence for God rather than confidence in our circumstances. The key lesson to learn here is that when everything is stripped away, the ordering of our priorities determines whether faith perseveres or collapses. If we build on reverence for God, we will create a foundation that survives the loss of everything else.

Job’s declaration—“Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him”—expresses perseverance at its most radical: faith that survives even death itself. (Job 13:15) Later, he affirms confidence in his Redeemer’s existence and his ultimate vindication, declaring “in my flesh I shall see God.” (Job 19:25–27) He frames his suffering as a refining process: “He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.” (Job 23:10)

Something we can learn from this is that our faith is not pointless. 2 Corinthians 4:17

2 Corinthians 4:17“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,”

The Apostle Paul exhorts believers to remain “steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Cor 15:58) This isn’t passive resignation but energetic engagement—steadfastness means continuing to serve even when results seem uncertain.

Believers are called to “stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong,” (1 Cor 16:13) suggesting that maintaining conviction requires deliberate courage. The command not to “grow weary while doing good” promises that “in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (Gal 6:9)—steadfastness bridges the gap between present effort and future reward.

We know that trials produce patience, and “patience” must have its “perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” (James 1:2–4) Once again, in climbing the mountain, we learn to view difficulty not as a reason to abandon our faith, but simply as a part of the refining process.

To finish what we start, our foundation isn’t personal strength; it’s God’s reliability. When we become partakers of Christ, we can hold fast “the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end” (Heb 3:14). Endurance is both a human responsibility and a divine gift.  Hope functions as “an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast,” (Heb 6:19), providing stability when circumstances shift..

When we face adversity, we must fight the desire to isolate and abandon the work of God in our lives. There will always be the temptation to give in to doubt and fear. To lose hope. My simple encouragement this week is to finish what you start. Run the race that is set before you to the end. Don’t stop short because He who has called you is faithful.

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Closing:

Today, I believe Job’s story offers us several tangible lessons for navigating adversity while maintaining faith.

Shift Your Focus from “Why” to “Who”

Job equips us to walk through valleys not because it answers all our questions about suffering, but because it reminds us of our limits and confronts us with God’s sufficiency, supremacy, righteousness, and wisdom—the point is not the why but the who, and the who is God himself.

When you’re suffering, resist the trap of demanding explanations. Instead, redirect your mental energy toward deepening your knowledge of God’s character and power. Job knew God and had invested himself in a relationship with God, and his faith rested squarely on who God had revealed Himself to be.

2. Recognize You Face a Genuine Crossroads

Suffering brings each of us to a unique crossroads in our faith where we have two clear, distinct options: we can choose to remain steadfast in our commitment to God and believe what Scripture says, or we can decide to modify or abandon our trust in God according to our circumstances and the feelings we have at that moment.

Job’s wife urged him to “curse God and die,” but Job responded, “Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” Acknowledge that you’re making a deliberate choice, not passively experiencing circumstances.

3. Embrace Imperfect Endurance

God graciously brought Job through his trials and rewarded him despite his struggles and shortcomings. If Job had handled it all perfectly, none of us could have related to him. His very human struggles encourage us to submit to God’s dealings and to trust Him, even when our emotions are all over the chart.

4. Understand That Faithfulness Bears Fruit

God’s blessing is on those who endure, not on those who bail out. After Job properly repented, God graciously restored his health and fortune, giving him ten more children and blessing his latter days more than the early days, allowing him to live to see his grandchildren to the fourth generation. Perseverance isn’t wasted effort—it produces character and positions you for God’s restoration.

Let’s Pray!

Help us to finish what we start.

Salvation.