When all is said and done, finishing well ultimately depends on God. I can take heart because God always finishes what he starts. “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). 

Turning 50 hit me hard. Somehow, it felt a lot different than turning 40. “Over the hill” felt pretty much the same as any other year with life and ministry flowing along as steadily as always. But 50 stopped me in my tracks with the dawning realization that I’m most likely entering the final third of my life. How much longer will I have to live and serve the Lord? 25 years? 20 years? Less? Only God know, but this milestone prompted me to step back and consider a vital question: what does it look like to finish well with whatever years the Lord entrusts to me?

No Assumptions

Even a surface survey of God’s Word reveals that finishing well should not be taken for granted. J. Robert Clinton, former professor of leadership at Fuller Theological Seminary, estimated that only 30% of Old Testament leaders finished well. I’m not about to quibble over the accuracy of his estimate. If anything, that percentage seems a bit high.

Having safely come through the flood on an ark built by faith, Noah seems to have let up at the end of his life, falling into sinful drunkenness and shameful nakedness (Genesis 9). Lot started well, having left everything familiar in Ur to follow his uncle Abraham in an unknown land. The Bible’s curtain closes on him drunken and destitute in a cave, committing incest with his two worldly daughters (Genesis 19). Aaron stood with his brother Moses against Pharaoh, speaking for God. He became Israel’s first high priest. He also led the people of Israel into idolatry and participated in a rebellion against his own brother (Exodus 33 and Number 12).

Saul, Israel’s first king, started well. He won several military victories by humbly trusting God and seemed eager to please Samuel. But he ended up wasting much of his reign in jealous pursuit of David, eventually committing suicide in battle after consulting a medium (1 Samuel 31). Solomon was immensely blessed by God with wisdom, wealth, and prosperity. He built the Temple, recorded countless proverbs, ushered in Israel’s Golden Age. He also went on to marry many foreign wives who turned his heart away from God (1 Kings 11). And so it goes.

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