The Author and the Finisher

by Audrey Frank @audreycfrank

…let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2, NKJV

 

As I sit to write, I make my words obey me. They fly through my fingers, my thoughts thundering behind them like a wild cowboy chasing his cattle, corralling, cajoling, forcing them into order and purpose. I am creating a story, a narrative for others to follow. With this story I hope to inspire and encourage, to stir up passion and determination. I have thought long and hard about my characters. I have weighed their feelings and tested their strength. I have wept over them as they hovered between life and death, and cheered for them as they triumphed.

I am the author, and I have the privilege of creating this story.

As I lay down to sleep at night, and rise the next morning to face my day, I silence my soul’s clamor with the Word of God. I am part of a living story, one whose ending I cannot write. The words of God thunder through my soul like a thousand horses charging across its dry, desert plains, shaking the foundations, causing springs of water to burst forth and transform my famine into flourish. God is creating a story in my life, a narrative for others to follow. With this story, He will inspire and encourage, stir up passion and determination, and display His glory for all to see. He has thought long and hard about me. I am the apple of His eye. He has weighed my feelings and tested me. He has wept over me as I hovered between truth and lies, and cheered for me as I overcame.

God is the author of my life, and He delights in creating His story in me.

The story I am writing is not finished yet, and I spend the empty spaces in my daydreaming about the last three chapters. I am fixated on them; they consume my every thought. Finishing is no easy task. The glory of the author is in the details of the finish. I want to end this story well. Malcolm Gladwell says that knowing the end makes the rest of the story easy to write.

I press on. I will also be a finisher. 

God’s story in me is not finished yet, and His thoughts are toward me. He knows the plans He has for me, plans not to harm me, but to give me hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). His eyes are upon the sparrow, and His eyes are so much more upon me. He has known the end from the beginning, and He is not worried at all. I will run with endurance this story-race set before me, this life He is writing in me, looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith. And may His glory be displayed in the end.

God is the finisher of my life story.

What a comfort it is to know that we have both an author and a finisher who is writing the story of our lives. Unlike us, he does not stumble over endings, freeze up in mid-narrative, grasping for what to write next. He knows the end from the start; His steady hand never fails. The story He is writing in us is not over yet; no matter what scene we may find ourselves in now. As we fix our eyes upon Him, He will continue to write, until He brings us to the last glorious page.

Lord, thank you for being the Author and the Finisher of my life story. Help me yield to your narrative even when it is uncomfortable. I will fix my eyes upon you today and trust you. Amen.

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Audrey Frank is an author, speaker, and storyteller. The stories she shares are brave and true. They give voice to those whose words are silenced by shame, the hard things in life that don’t make sense, and the losses that leave us wondering if we will survive. Audrey and her family have spent over twenty years living and working among different cultures and world views, and she has found that God’s story of redemption spans every geography (geographical location)  and culture. He is the God of Instead, giving honor instead of shame, gladness instead of mourning, hope instead of despair. Although she has three different degrees in communication and intercultural studies, Audrey’s greatest credential is that she is known and loved by the One who made her.

Her upcoming book, From Shame to Honor, is an outpouring of Audrey’s heart to introduce others to the God of Instead. Shame is not unique to the developing world, the plight of the women behind veils, young girls trafficked across borders; shame is lurking in hearts everywhere. Through powerful stories from women around the world, From Shame to Honor illuminates the power of the Gospel to remove shame, giving honor instead. Look for it through Harvest House Publishers in the fall of 2018.

You can also find Audrey at www.audreyfrank.com, as well as on Twitter and Facebook