Reading the chapters of the bible for 27th April (II Chr. 25 – 28) from my Step by Step book from Walk Through the Bible ministries, the focus was on the lives of Amaziah, Uzziah, Jotham, and Ahaz, they were the Kings of Judah; it struck me (and sadly if I may add) how Amaziah and Uzziah started well but ended badly. Of these four, Jotham was the only one who started and ended well.
In II Chr. 25:2 (NLT), it was said that “Amaziah did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, but not wholeheartedly”. Sadly, by the end of his reign, he had turned away from God (II Chr. 25:14 & 27). The same was said of Uzziah, his son. He started out doing what was right in God’s sight (II Chr. 26:4) but as soon as he became established and powerful (II Chr. 26:16), he fell into sin just like his ancestor Rehoboam (II Chr. 12:1). Uzziah died a leper, while Amaziah was assassinated (II Chr. 25:27). Such dreadful endings.
Jotham was the only one to buck this trend. He started well and ended well (II Chr. 27), and it was said that he was powerful because he was “careful to live in obedience to the Lord his God” (II Chr. 27:6, NLT). When you start and end well, God will definitely prosper you. David went as far as saying that in his lifetime, he had never seen the righteous forsaken, nor their descendant begging for bread (Ps. 37:25). What a sweet and blessed assurance!
As we go into the month of May, I want to encourage each of us to look at every aspect of our lives and ask God to help us end well. This includes our professional lives because this principle also applies in the workplace (Col. 3:23-24, Prov. 22:29). You may say there’s no point because you started badly, but trust me when I tell you that ending well makes all the difference. Ask Usain Bolt, he started poorly in the 2009 IAAF 100m men's race but ended so well that he set a men’s record in that race. Imagine if he had given up. My charge to you is don’t give up, you can still end well. Simply retrace your steps back to God, He is waiting for you with open arms (Luke 15, Rev. 3:20). May God help us to end well in Jesus' name. Amen!
The end of anything is very critical to decide whether success or failure. The strategy to end well as a Christian is to keep your focus on Jesus, that is fix your eyes on Him, whom the Bible says in Hebrew 12:2, He is the author and finisher (perfected) of our faith. And in Revelation 22:13, He says I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. He is surely with you at the start point and will be there in the middle to overcome every obstacle or challenge, to get you the the end point victoriously. Praise God.
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