Finishing Faithfully, Running Intentionally

||Rhema for the Week||

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.
— 1 Corinthians 9:24 (NKJV)

This week stands at a sacred intersection—an ending and a beginning held in the same breath. As 2025 closes and 2026 quietly opens, Scripture invites us not merely to keep moving but to run with intention. This calls for pausing, reflecting, and realigning our posture for the year or race ahead.

Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 4:7 are not a declaration of pride or ease but of faithfulness. He does not say the race was perfect. However, he affirms that it was finished and the faith was kept. That testimony reminds us that success in God’s eyes is not speed or applause, but perseverance in obedience.

Like Paul, 2025 may have presented us with different experiences. Some pleasant and others unpleasant, yet all were needed for our growth. Some doors were opened; others were shut, and some remain pending. Regardless of how it was for you, one truth is unchanging: God is faithful.

As we approach a new year, Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 9:24 to run with intention—to train, to discipline the body, and to refuse running aimlessly. He reminds us that not all running leads to the prize, but to win, it calls for direction, focus, and preparation.

Hebrews 12:1–2 brings these truths together and encourages us to lay aside every weight, run with endurance, and fix our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Finisher of our faith. Some weights belong to the end of 2025: distractions, unhealed disappointments, betrayals, misplaced striving. Some disciplines belong to the new year 2026: prayer, consistency, obedience, and trust.

Overall, this transition is not about reinventing ourselves overnight but about continuity in Christ. The same Jesus who strengthened us to finish the race behind us now stands before us, calling us forward. Quietly reflect: What weight are you laying down before 2025 ends, and what discipline will you intentionally commit to in 2026 to obtain the prize God has set before you?

Let’s finish 2025 with gratitude and begin 2026 with intention.  And run not aimlessly, but toward the prize set before you in Christ.

Further reading: Heb 12:1-2; 1 Cor 9:24-27; 2 Timothy 4:7-8; Phil 3:13-14; Psalm 65:11; Isaiah 40:31, 43:18-19