Finishing What You Start
Lent on the Run — Day 31
Better is the end of a thing than its beginning;
the patient in spirit are better than the proud in spirit.
— Ecclesiates 7:8
There’s something holy about crossing a finish line.
Not just because of the medal (there they are again), but because of everything it took to get there. The finish holds all the miles—early ones full of energy, middle ones full of doubt, and final ones full of grit. The finish says, I stayed with it. Even when it wasn’t easy. Even when I didn’t feel fast or strong or motivated. I kept going.
That’s why this verse speaks so deeply. “Better is the end of a thing than its beginning.” We celebrate fresh starts—and they matter—but we grow through the follow-through. Through the days when showing up felt like the win. Through the quiet work of patience, which often goes unnoticed but never goes unseen by God.
Sometimes we confuse patience with passivity. But real patience—the kind this verse lifts up—is active. It’s staying present in the process. It’s continuing to move forward with grace when your pride wants to bow out. It’s trusting that the path still has purpose, even when you can’t see the next turn.
So whether you’re chasing a goal, recovering from a setback, or simply trying to stay faithful in a weary season—don’t overlook the strength it takes to finish.
What’s something in your life right now that you’re being called to finish—not perfectly, but faithfully? Where might patience be forming something in you along the way?
Lent Photo-A-Day
For the Whole Series
Don’t forget their will be no devotion on Sunday, keep tuned in for the series to continue on Monday.
