Hey Blog Fam,

Trust we're doing great and following hard after those things the Lord has place in our hearts and hands.

Finishing Strong is one of the books I read in February, 2021, I got so blessed by it, and I decided to share some of the lessons I learnt from the book here.

The book was written for men, but since everyone (both male and female) have the desire to finish their race on earth strong, then this book is not exclusive to men alone.

So, let's dive right into the lessons I learnt from the book.

1. Everyone Wants To Finish Strong But Not Everyone Will

I was surprised seeing the author write this, I mean if I want to finish my faith-walk strong, isn't that desire alone capable of ensuring that I finish strong, but no.

So many people want to finish strong, but not everyone will. 

This is not God's fault, because we as human also have a big part to play even as God helps us in our decisions

2. There Are Ambushes On The Way

This is what brings the first into clearer perspective, while everyone wants to finish strong, not everyone will as a result of falling into one of these three ambushes;

- Ambush of another woman (man)

- Ambush of money

- Ambush of a neglected family

These Ambushes are real, and how you'll finish depends on how you are able to overcome falling into these traps.

3. Some People Will Finish Not Strong But So-So

We all know what it means to finish a race strong, it means that at the end of the race you're still standing, but finishing so-so, is that although one finishes the race, but such individual didn't finish strong.

Steve gave some examples of those who finished so-so in the scriptures, people like David, Hezekiah.

Then their lifestyles were studied so that we as believers today, since we don't want to finish so-so, can learn from them. It is only important that we learn from the lives of those who fell in-between their race and take cues from them on what to avoid on our journey.

4. Teachability Is Key

If there is one person who will finish this race well, then that person will be one who is teachable.

There was a part of the book when the author mentioned how he visited a place and a lady was asking him what kind of man will be worth marrying, and out of all the qualities Steve could have mentioned, he mentioned Teachability, and I could not have agreed more with him.

Our world is always changing, bringing with it new ideas and all.

Anyone who thinks he knows it all is only one step away from discovering that he actually knows nothing.

If we want to indeed finish strong, we must remain teachable both to God and to the people who have authority in our lives.

Teachability is indeed an important bedrock if indeed we will finish this race well.

5. There Are Failures That Helps Us Finish Strong

I love this chapter.

There are times when life doesn't go as we have figured it out, and this is the time the Lord is taking us through some courses in order to get a degree.

It is not a B.Sc degree or even an MBA, this particular degree is called M.C.A (Masters in Character Acquisition)

If we look into every aspect of our lives, we will know that we need to take this course in the school of the Spirit too.

The failures we experience most times are building character in us.

There are some lessons we might never learn in life until we reach rock bottom, those places when it is just you and God (Trust me when I say I know what this really means).

To get this masters, there are four courses

* Unemployment 101

This is a time in your life when you can't seem to land a job. 

It is not every time that believers can't seem to get a job that is from the devil, there are times when the Lord is training you and taking you through this process to better refine you.

Remember that it when we are at our lowest points that we really look upward.

* Advanced obscurity

This is a course that a seemingly popular person takes, considering the life of Moses, he was quite popular and all of a sudden in Egypt being the son of Pharoah's daughter, then somethings happened and he had to run away from everyone who knows him to a land where he was not known.

Yours might not be to run away, yours might  be something that takes you from the limelight into a dark place. 

In that seemingly unlited place, God is there teaching you lessons that you might not have learnt if you were still up and about.

* Remedial waiting

I hate waiting for things.

I know most of us do too.

But this is such an compulsory course in this masters program.

The world is such a busy place, with everything moving at a speed of light, but then comes a time when we have to wait.

Some are waiting to have a job.

Others are waiting to get a promotion at work.

For another, it is waiting to conceive a child.

Another is waiting to be married.

And the list continues...

We all have what we are waiting for, but while we wait, character is being moulded in us.

And at the end of that session, the Lord will make all things beautiful.

* Intermediate loneliness

Yes, there are times that in the midst of our very active lives, there will be season of loneliness.

In the author's words

Loneliness is never a pleasant experience.

But God, in his wisdom, at times will seperate us from our normal network of family and friends.

Isolation is a time to get to know Him better.

I really gained a lot from the pages of this book, and I'd encourage you to add this book to your reading list to further learn how to finish strong.

We won't be on earth forever, there will be a day when we will take our last breathe, so it is only important that we learn how we will be finish strong when our journey on earth is over.

At the end of the day, we will finish strong.

To get a e- copy of this book, click Here