How do you finish well as a follower of Jesus? How do you remain faithful through the difficulties, disappointments, and challenges of life, so that when you reach the end, you can look back and say, as the Apostle Paul did, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith"?

I've been thinking about that question for a long time. And a recent trip along the Alaska Highway brought it to mind again in a very personal way.

An Unexpected Discovery on the Alaska Highway

I recently took a trip from Fort St. John up the Alaska Highway to Watson Lake in the Yukon, then down through Dease Lake and across to Telegraph Creek. It's spectacular country, with incredible scenery and all kinds of wildlife.

Along the highway, there are little gas stops, stores, and settlements. Some are still operating, while others have closed down. We stopped at one of these places for a break, and I started looking through a bookshelf.

I was surprised to discover a book called Hello the Camp, written by an old frend Ingi.

Back in the early and mid-1980s, Ingi had the trapline next to mine in northern Manitoba. I worked with him and his crew one winter, and I even spent a week travelling his trapline by dog team and snowshoes.

We shared some great adventures and made some wonderful memories.

But what really caught my attention was the photograph on the book's cover.
It showed Ingi standing by his cabin at Niso Lake, looking across the water toward a small island.

That was the exact location where Kristin and I had our very first date in January 1985. We snowshoed across the frozen lake, around that island, and back, then had coffee and dessert with Ingi and his wife.

We're coming up on 40 years of marriage, so that picture brought back some pretty special memories.

But there's another memory associated with that island.

On December 3, 2016, Ingi walked across to that island and took his own life.

It's something I've never fully understood. I remember the adventures, the laughter, and the good times, but there's also sadness associated with how his life ended.

I don't presume to understand everything he was going through, and I certainly wouldn't want the end of his life to erase everything that came before it.

But seeing that book reminded me of a question I've asked many times over the years.

How do you finish well?
And what can we learn from those who did?

The Apostle Paul Finished Well

When we reach the end of the book of Acts, we find the Apostle Paul under house arrest in Rome.

This is a man who had been dramatically converted through an encounter with Jesus, called to take the gospel to the Gentiles, and then endured years of opposition, persecution, and suffering.

Yet here's the final picture Acts gives us of Paul:

"For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ, with all boldness and without hindrance." (Acts 28:30–31)

There he was, under house arrest, still welcoming people, still proclaiming the kingdom of God, still teaching about Jesus.
He hadn't quit.

And near the end of his life, Paul wrote these remarkable words:
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." (2 Timothy 4:7)

How could he say that?

It certainly wasn't because life had been easy.

In 1 Corinthians 4:11–13, Paul describes being hungry, thirsty, poorly clothed, brutally treated, and homeless. Elsewhere he recounts beatings, imprisonments, shipwrecks, and being pelted with stones.

Paul experienced more than his share of difficulties.

Yet he persevered.
As I've studied Paul's life, I've noticed three important truths that helped him finish well. I believe they can help us do the same.

#1. Faith Wins

Paul knew the Old Testament Scriptures. Before becoming a follower of Jesus, he had been a Pharisee, thoroughly trained in the law and the history of Israel.

He knew the stories of people like Job, Noah, Abraham, and Daniel.

He knew about Daniel's friends who stood firm even when threatened with a fiery furnace.

And he knew something that shows up repeatedly throughout those stories:
Faith in God is a winning position.

Not necessarily in the way the world defines winning. Faith doesn't mean an easy life, freedom from suffering, or getting everything we want.

Job suffered terribly. Daniel was thrown into a lions' den. Abraham waited years for God's promises to unfold.

But God was faithful.

Psalm 9:10 says: "Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you."

Paul understood this.

His confidence wasn't rooted in his circumstances. It was rooted in the character and faithfulness of God.

That's an important distinction.

If our faith depends on life going well, what happens when life doesn't go well?

What happens when prayers don't seem to be answered, when relationships break down, when health deteriorates, or when following Jesus becomes costly?

Paul had learned that he could trust God regardless of his circumstances.
And so can we.

Faith wins because God is faithful, not because life is easy.

#2. Jesus Lives in Us

The second truth that sustained Paul was his understanding of the indwelling presence of Christ.

Listen to what he wrote in Galatians 2:20: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

That's a verse every believer should memorize.

Paul understood that following Jesus wasn't simply a matter of trying harder, being more disciplined, or developing enough personal determination to endure whatever came along.

Christ lived in him.

In Colossians 1:27–29, Paul speaks about Christ in us, the hope of glory, and describes the energy of Christ working powerfully within him as he carried out his ministry.

Paul worked hard. He sacrificed. He persevered.

But he knew that he wasn't doing it alone.

It's easy for us to approach the Christian life as though everything depends on our own effort.

We try to be good Christians. We try to overcome temptation. We try to serve God faithfully. And sometimes we end up exhausted and discouraged.

But the Christian life isn't simply about what we can do for Jesus.

It's about what Jesus can do in and through us as we surrender ourselves to him.

The same Jesus who sustained Paul lives in every believer through his Spirit.

Finishing well isn't simply about personal determination. It's about depending on the One who lives within us.

#3. Heaven Is Forever

This third principle is the one I particularly want to emphasize.

Years ago, when I was doing a major study that eventually led to my teaching and writing on the DNA of a Christ Follower, I spent a great deal of time examining the core characteristics of people who genuinely follow Jesus.

One characteristic kept showing up in Paul's life.
Once you see it, it's hard to miss.

Paul was obsessed with eternity.

Listen to how he talks about his life in Acts 20:24: "However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me, the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace."

And in Romans 8:18: "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."


Then there's 2 Corinthians 4:16–18, where Paul explains that although outwardly we're wasting away, inwardly we're being renewed day by day.

He describes his troubles as light and momentary compared to the eternal glory that outweighs them all.
And then he makes this remarkable statement:

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

That's the perspective that shaped Paul's life.

He wasn't denying the reality of suffering. He knew all about suffering.
But he understood that even the worst difficulties of this life were temporary.

Eternity was forever.

And because of that, he could keep going.

He could endure hardship. He could make sacrifices. He could continue proclaiming Jesus even when doing so landed him in prison.

His focus was on something much bigger than his immediate circumstances.

I believe this eternal perspective was one of the major reasons Paul was able to finish well.

What an Eternal Perspective Looks Like

Randy Alcorn is an author and speaker whose ministry is actually called Eternal Perspective Ministries.

He's written extensively about heaven and eternity. His novels in particular have a way of making you think differently about what really matters.

But Alcorn hasn't simply written about having an eternal perspective. He's made some significant personal decisions based on it.

In the early 1990s, he was involved in protests outside an abortion clinic and eventually faced an enormous court judgment.

Rather than have his book royalties directed toward paying that judgment, he signed over the rights and royalties from his books and spent years receiving only a modest salary from his ministry.

Over time, millions of dollars from his writing and ministry have been directed toward Christian ministries and other causes.

How does someone make decisions involving that kind of sacrifice?

By looking at life through the lens of eternity.

When you genuinely believe that this life is temporary and eternity is forever, it changes how you think about money, possessions, comfort, reputation, and suffering.

It changes your priorities.

And it changes what you're willing to endure for the sake of following Jesus.

Will You Finish Well?

Here's a question worth taking seriously.
Do you expect to finish well?

We'd all like to think the answer is yes.

But the Bible gives us plenty of examples of people who started well and didn't finish well.

And we see the same thing today.

People who once seemed deeply committed to Jesus drift away. Some abandon their faith. Others simply become so occupied with everyday life that following Jesus is pushed further and further into the background.

Jesus warned about this in the parable of the sower.

Some people receive the word with enthusiasm, but when trouble or persecution comes, they fall away.


Others become so consumed by the worries of life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desire for other things that the word becomes unfruitful.

That should cause us to examine our own lives.

What is shaping our priorities?

What are we living for?

Are we so focused on the things of this life that we're losing sight of eternity?

Think about the things that occupy your attention, your time, your energy, and your resources.

How many of those things will matter a hundred years from now?

How many will matter in eternity?

I'm not suggesting that the everyday responsibilities of life are unimportant. Far from it. Faithfulness in ordinary life is a significant part of following Jesus.

But we need to keep those responsibilities in perspective.

We need to remember what lasts.

Keep Your Eyes on Eternity

I believe there are three essential truths we need to hold onto if we're going to finish well.

First, faith wins. We can trust God even when life is difficult because he is faithful.

Second, Jesus lives in us. We aren't called to follow him in our own strength. His Spirit is present and active within us.

And third, heaven is forever. Whatever we experience in this life is temporary compared to the eternity that awaits us.

Paul understood all three.

That's why he could endure so much and still keep going.

That's why he could proclaim the gospel while under house arrest.

And that's why, near the end of his life, he could say that he had fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith.

We can't predict everything that will happen between now and the end of our lives. There may be challenges, disappointments, and suffering that we can't even imagine today.

But we can choose where to fix our attention.

We can choose to trust God, depend on the presence of Christ, and live with eternity in view.

So here's my challenge to you, and to myself.

Do you want to finish well?

Focus on eternity.