4:39 – Follow Through Is Hard

#faithbites #faithjourney through

Setting

Here’s something that may shock you, I’m not perfect! I’m far from it. One of my weak points is follow through. I am good at doing things when I have specific tasks but sometimes following through on a commitment is hard. It’s not that I don’t want to do it or try to avoid it, it’s just other things get in the way. Most of the time it’s simple, like forgetting to order something on the grocery list or update a website. Things that aren’t the end of the world, but it let’s someone down and bugs me. One trick I try to use is both creating a todo list and having a calendar that shows me what I have to do. The other, and sometimes most important one, is having a friend remind me about something. I don’t take any offense to that. Do you have problems with follow through?

Today’s questions: Why is follow through important? What do you do in your life to keep you on track and avoid letting things fall through the cracks?

Scripture

• Ecclesiastes 7:8 – Finishing is better than starting. Patience is better than pride.
• Luke 14:28-30 – ²⁸ “But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? ²⁹ Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. ³⁰ They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’

Reflection

When looking at follow through and our scripture, it reminds me how I play video games. In games that involve survival and crafting, like Minecraft, I love starting fresh. So many new things to do. But quickly, I loose interest and have a hard time getting back to it. Other games., like Fallout, that have missions, keep me going through objectives and reminders.

If we look at Ecclesiastes, it says that finishing is better than starting. If we just get over the hump, we will be richly rewarded. It’s too easy to give up and not finish. If we look at Luke, we see Jesus tell us that we need to think before we act. In other words, if we are going to take on a task, do we have the energy and skills to see it through. If not, we will get a reputation for failing and not following through on our commitments. For me, if I look at a big job, I’m much better at looking at everything that is needed to complete it rather than a small task. Some times small tasks, especially those without ending, are easiest to give up and let them fall by the wayside. Our task is to remember that there is strength and it is Godly to know what we are getting into before saying yes AND ask Jesus for the determination to see it through.

As we close today, let’s think about what we have agreed to and determine if we can complete it or not. If not, let’s make a plan to get this off our plate. If we can let’s finish it up. Then we move forward and make sure that we only accept things that we should and can complete.

Prayer

Father God, let us be doers and not just hearers of your word. Help us to be people who can be counted upon to finish what we started. Lord, if there are times when we shouldn’t have accepted a task, help us to get out of it in a way that is pleasing to you. We ask that you guide us as we accept our tasks and give us the skills and abilities to get them done. We pray this in your name, Amen.