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Writing in his book ”See You at the Top,” the late author Zig Ziglar said that a few years ago an international expedition was organized to climb the north wall of the Matterhorn, a feat never before accomplished.  Reporters interviewed the members of the expedition who came from all over the world.  A reporter asked one member of the group, “Are you going to climb the north wall of the Matterhorn?” The man replied, “I’m going to give it everything I have.”  Another reporter asked a second member, “Are you going to climb the north wall of the Matterhorn?” The climber replied, “I’m going to do the very best ai can.”  Another was asked the same question and responded, “I’m going to give it a jolly good effort.”  Finally, the reporter asked a fourth climber in the group, “Are you going to climb the north wall of the Matterhorn?” This forth climber looked him dead in the eye and said, “I will climb the north wall of the Matterhorn.”  Only one man did climb the north wall of the Matterhorn.  It was the man who said, “I will.”

For this climber, the thought of giving in or giving up never entered his mind.  He had a goal and throwing in the towel was not a part of his thinking.  The apostle James has a word for us in Scripture.  He says, “Let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete lacking in nothing” (James 1:4). Another way of putting this is, “See that you persevere to the end.”

There are some very practical things we can remember, which will help us when the going gets tough.

First, to finish something is much more important than to begin something!  But let’s not overlook the importance of beginning something or beginning something again-recovering from a bad happening.  However, the writer of Ecclesiastes declares, “Better is the end of a thing than its beginning”(7:8).  Certainly, it is better to have a thing turn out well than simply to start well. Dreams turned into realities are much better than broken dreams.  Accomplishments are much better than failures.  How we end is much much more important than how we begin.

Second, to finish something we need to break it up into manageable parts!  We simply do not take life in one big lump; it does not come to us that way.   In God’s wisdom, God has broken up this life of ours into pieces, and though we cannot handle life in one big lump, we can handle it in pieces. Thus, life happens to us one day at a time.

Third, to finish something, we have to be connected to the Source of our motivation!  A pastor was having a conference with his associates.  As they sat around a rather long table, his associates asked him, “What do you think about the political situation in America today?   the credibility gap in government?  the threat of war?  the family breakdown?  What’s your feeling about the economic depression that some people believe will strike America?”  And on and on they went.

The pastor thought long and hard about their questions and then answered, “I’m very concerned about the things you’re talking about, but I’m not remotely concerned about holding them in my mind until they get on top of me.  You ask me why?  Well, these things are not my source.  My source is God.  These things are not stable and change, but God doesn’t change.  He’s constant.  God’s always the same, and God is in the now.”

What is James’s message to us, “See that you persevere to the end.”  Don’t give up; don’t throw in the towel. Keep your focus on God, and know that we don’t have to bear or face our challenges alone.  It all boils down to finishing well!