I attended a retreat some years back, and the retreat dwelt on finishing well. The retreat concentrated on biblical heroes we know who started their journey of faith, were champions for God’s cause and how they fared. Some of these heroes signed out remarkably well, some didn’t finish of so good, while some could not have been pleased with how they ended. To some of us, we might tag them as a disgrace, as failures or disappointments. But the truth is, we somehow are now in the position of these heroes… are we going to finish well? Are we working towards remaining faithful to the end of the line? We need the grace of God, but we must be intentional about how we wish to finish the race we began. In every area of our lives.

I won’t attempt to reproduce the extracts of that retreat, but this reflection came to me as I read and reflected on the story of King Asa and how he ended his career as the King of Judah. Read 2nd Chronicles Chapters 14 to 16. Don’t be scared. It’s an interesting read and you would be glad you did. Asides that, it would help you appreciate this reflection better.
Before we briefly explore Asa’s story, let’s see some salient points which we must drive home into our hearts. God has not called us to be successful; God has called us to be faithful! I heard this statement some years back and it holds true and grows richer in my heart every day. The ideal for most of us is that we long to be successful and our prayers are often geared towards one form of success or the other. But this not what God wants… I rephrase… our insatiable desire for success is not what God wants. God wants that insatiable desire to be directed to Him. You would see better from a few analogy.
God has not called us to be successful; God has called us to be faithful!
God calls us to be faithful so that in any circumstance we find ourselves we remain true to Him. God wants to take pride in knowing that we are truly his. Let’s see reference from Job’s story. Job was faithful to the end, regardless of his circumstance; rich or poor. Another example; Abraham was faithful, regardless of his circumstance. Before he got Isaac and after Isaac was born, he remained faithful. Tobit was faithful, regardless of his circumstance he still reverenced God. At this point you may be wondering how the topic “Finishing Well” has drifted into faithfulness. In fact, it is the source and ingredient of finishing well.
Our prayer is that we do not just have faith in God, but we are faithful to Him not just today or tomorrow but till the very end of our lives. Note that one of the characteristics of God is that God is Faithful, He is not a Liar, He is true to His name. As children of God, made in His image and of His likeness, we are expected to take this quality of faithfulness. And God does not joke with this quality; that is why we say: “What He says He would do, that is what he would do”. Faithfulness is a criteria of being godly.
So how does this quality rub off on us? This quality of faithfulness is the ingredient that helps us to connect to God. To believe without doubting. To wait on the Lord. To regards that which the Lord has presented above any other. Faiths helps us to worship God fully! Faith helps us to please the Lord!
It is disheartening that a Christian can start his work of faith strongly but along the way, he backslides and ends rather poorly. One of the reasons is that his/her faithfulness has been compromised. So it is one thing to have faith and it is another to be faithful. Being faithful is the product of having faith. Can we say that it is having faith to the full…! So the Christian has faith in God but when the quality of faith is tested now and again, what happens? Can the Christian prove to be faithful?
This test of the quality of faith we all have as believers in God is the total drama about our lives. We are often tested for what we believe in. In different departments of our lives, we have to proof who we are, what we believe and how strongly we do. This test may submit us to life threatening moments. Some persons are tested on the altar of success and advancement to know where their loyalty or faith lie. If you are in doubt, go and read the temptations of Jesus in the wilderness. These tests or temptations repeatedly come in same or different shades, day in day out. So how do we fair? Do we drop the baton? Do we give in? Can we remain faithful today, tomorrow, till the end of our days?
This test of the quality of faith we all have as believers in God is the total drama about our lives.
So talking about King Asa of Judah, a king who started his reign well. He was faithful to God and pleased God. He depended on God to deliver the kingdom from their enemies; 2nd Chronicles 14
9 An Ethiopian[a] named Zerah invaded Judah with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots and advanced as far as Mareshah. 10 Asa went out to fight him, and both sides took up their positions at Zephathah Valley near Mareshah. 11 Asa prayed to the Lord his God, “O Lord, you can help a weak army as easily as a powerful one. Help us now, O Lord our God, because we are relying on you, and in your name we have come out to fight against this huge army. Lord, you are our God; no one can hope to defeat you.”
The Ethiopian army was defeated by the power of God. Even in 2nd Chronicles 15, the activities of Kings Asa’s religious reforms are recorded. We see a man hungry to do God’s will and promote God’s cause. This takes a different turn in 2nd Chronicles 16; we see a different King Asa.
In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of King Asa of Judah, King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and started to fortify Ramah in order to cut off all traffic in and out of Judah. 2 So Asa took silver and gold from the treasuries of the Temple and the palace and sent it to Damascus, to King Benhadad of Syria, with this message: 3 “Let us be allies, as our fathers were. This silver and gold is a present for you. Now break your alliance with King Baasha of Israel so that he will have to pull his troops out of my territory.”
The stories reveal that Asa’s plan worked out as the King of Benhada intervened and the King Baasha withdrew his forces. Yes we may say he was successful…but was he faithful to God? The text that follows explains that God did not take it lightly with King Asa that he put his trust in man. I was also confused when I read the text because, King Asa did not just trust in King Benhadad, he also too temple treasuries dedicated to God and offered them to King benhadad. Remember this… all glory and honour belongs to God. If you choose to be on the Lord’s side then make this a point of duty. God was displeased with the faithlessness of King Asa and responded through a prophet. 16:7
7 At that time the prophet Hanani went to King Asa and said, “Because you relied on the king of Syria instead of relying on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Israel[a] has escaped from you. 8 Didn’t the Ethiopians[b] and the Libyans have large armies with many chariots and cavalry troops? But because you relied on the Lord, he gave you victory over them. 9 The Lord keeps close watch over the whole world, to give strength to those whose hearts are loyal to him. You have acted foolishly, and so from now on you will always be at war.” 10 This made Asa so angry with the prophet that he had him put in chains. It was at this same time that Asa began treating some of the people cruelly.
One mistake leads to another; King Asa did not only show faithlessness but grave dishonor. He was angry with God. This is another vital point; when we offend God, our willingness to submit and ask for forgiveness is also an act of faith. It only presents our desire to remain faithful to God. But in this instance, what happens to King Asa? He put the prophet of God in chains instead of using the opportunity to ask for forgiveness.
The remaining part of King Asa’s life took this dramatic turn. He had a life threatening injury on his foot and refused to seek God’s help. Every opportunity presenting itself for him to return back to God. [God creating opportunities for us to turn back to Him is also a sign of His faithfulness.] God is not interested in the death of a sinner but his/her repentance. God wants us to always return to Him showing our desire to be faithful. Perhaps you now understand why I commenced with the whole brief talk about faith and faithfulness. If you read about the life of King Asa and how he loved God and work for God, you ould marvel. He started reforms to ensure the kingdom was dedicated to God. I asked myself, so what happened?
- Did he lose his love for God or his faith in God?
- Was he expecting more?
- Did arrogance set in?
- Was he deluded by his lust for power or trying to defend his throne (his position and privileges)?
- Did he trust his knowledge, tactics, strategy and wisdom so much that he set a different course?
We have a lot of King Asa living within and around us. We do very well with our relationship with God up until we make a mistake. Even in the mistake, we engage in more mistakes by feeling entitled and arrogant. Sometimes we feel we now know enough to lead our lives. Some persons think that even God owes them. We believe in our own capacity to usher in/out different levels of success. And even when we find out we have failed, we are either too proud or ashamed to turn back to God. The grave evil is ending badly and not even knowing it.
Lord please I don’t want to depend on myself, knowledge or wisdom… I depend on you and desire to finish well. Please let everything in me and around me gravitate me towards finishing well. Amen!
King David made grave mistakes during his reign. After he killed Uriah and after he directed the Army Chief to conduct a censor in Israel. God sent prophets to David to inform him of his flaws. David, in both circumstances, immediately sought for God’s forgiveness. This is a show of his faithfulness. David is one of our biblical heroes who remained faithful till the end. And he ended well. He ended so well that he chose and installed his successor.
So we are going to end where we were meant to begin! We are all in some sought of race in life and the ultimate desire is to end the race very well. We may not come first or lead all through the race. Yes, it may appear that we are not succeeding in the race… that is not really the goal in life. The goal is to run the race well, be steadfast, finish well, then hand over the baton to someone else to continue the race of life. All the successes we think we might have achieved may come to naught in a moment when we are wrapped in faithlessness and experience the wrath of God. It should be our utmost desire that our walk with God is not tainted by failures at the end. Prophet Ezekiel aptly captures our discourse in Chapter 18
21 “If someone evil stops sinning and keeps my laws, if he does what is right and good, he will not die; he will certainly live. 22 All his sins will be forgiven, and he will live, because he did what is right. 23 Do you think I enjoy seeing evil people die?” asks the Sovereign Lord. “No, I would rather see them repent and live. 24 “But if a righteous person stops doing good and starts doing all the evil, disgusting things that evil people do, will he go on living? No! None of the good he did will be remembered. He will die because of his unfaithfulness and his sins.
In such a situation, all the successes we might have achieved could quickly be forgotten and those who might have been faithless all the while and at the end chose to become faithful, would have finished well. The end matters… Finish well!
May God grant us the grace to finish our race faithfully in God’s good book. Amen!
Speechlesswaters