Drift Is Quiet, But Finishing Well Is Chosen

What have you started strong, yet did not finish so well? We have all heard it said, it is not how you start, it is how you finish that counts.

What were you once good at, but now you are not? Something is undone. Not finished. You gave up, stopped, or quietly drifted away.

It is easy to do and everyone is guilty. Projects go unfinished. Health routines stop. Financial discipline is postponed. Spiritual hunger wanes. Relationships erode and become distant, strained, or lead to divorce.

Here is the truth. Most people do not wake up one day and decide to ruin something good.

We drift. We relax. And before you and I know it, we are headed toward a not so good finish. One thing is certain. We cannot live on yesterday’s faithfulness. It will not carry us into today.

So what does this have to do with Nahum, a book in the Bible very few read? What does it have to do with Nineveh, the city Nahum was talking to?

It started with Jonah. Everyone knows the story of Jonah and the whale. But the story was really about a man running from what God called him to do.

Eventually Jonah gave in and went to Nineveh. When he arrived, his message was clear and direct. “Jonah began to go into the city, walking a full day’s journey, and he preached this message: ‘In forty days Nineveh will be destroyed.’” (Jonah 3:4 NCV)

It was a warning, not a verdict. Shockingly, the people listened. They humbled themselves. They turned from their evil ways.

Scripture says, “God saw what they did, that they stopped their evil ways. So God changed his mind and did not punish them as he had said.” (Jonah 3:10 NCV)

Decades later, Nahum went to Nineveh. This time the tone was very different. The people of Nineveh had started strong, but they did not finish well.

Nahum’s message was no longer a warning with time attached. It was a declaration. “The Lord has given this command about you: ‘You will have no descendants to carry on your name. I will destroy the statues and idols in the temple of your gods. I will prepare your grave, because you are worthless.’” (Nahum 1:14 NCV)

This was not a stumble. It was a settled pattern. A decision to return to the old self. This mattered to God, and God reacted.

What have you left that was good and you know you need to return to it and give it your best to finish well?

Nahum reminds you and me of something Jonah already knew about God. “The Lord is slow to get angry, but he is very powerful. The Lord will not let the guilty go unpunished.” (Nahum 1:3 NCV)

God’s patience is not weakness. His mercy is not permission to do as we please. Jonah shows how God responds to repentance. Nahum shows how God responds to repeated rebellion and sin.

Let us be honest. We can talk a good game, but it is how we live, and how we finish, that matters.

God did not forget Nineveh’s repentance, but He also did not ignore their return to violence and pride. Nahum closes with words that are hard to read. “There is no healing for your injury; your wound is deadly.” (Nahum 3:19 NCV)

If I am honest, God’s mercy and patience allow me time to drift, to sin, and to repeat sin. These Bible stories are not written for entertainment, education, or even to scare us. They are written to wake me up, and to wake you up.

Repentance is not a one time event. It is a direction. A lifestyle. A daily choosing of humility, obedience, and dependence on God, and truly calling Jesus Christ our Lord.

Yes, we all love the saving part. Jesus as Savior. It is the Lord part that we struggle with.

Yesterday’s obedience does not cancel today’s drift. Yesterday’s accomplishments do not excuse today’s neglect.

So here is the quiet question Nahum leaves us with. Are you and I living on how we started, or are we paying attention to how we are finishing?

The good news is this. If you and I are breathing, then we are not finished yet. Course correction is still possible. God truly delights in restoration. He really will forgive when we confess, repent, and seek Him. When we do these things, healing comes, strength grows, and finishing well becomes possible.

Nahum reminds us that faith with action is meant to endure, not just begin well.

In the end, Scripture is clear. God cares about beginnings, but He tells the story by how it ends. What would have happened if Christ did not finish?

Jesus finished. He lived the life we could not live. He carried our sin, our drift, and our rebellion to the cross. “Christ died for our sins just as the Scriptures said.” (1 Corinthians 15:3 NCV) His suffering paid our debt. His death bought our forgiveness. His resurrection gives us life. “When Jesus had finished everything he had to do, he said, ‘It is finished.’” (John 19:30 NCV)

So what happened to Nineveh, the people who really did start strong? Nahum wrote, “But like a rushing flood, God will completely destroy Nineveh; he will chase his enemies until he kills them.” (Nahum 1:8 NCV)

Just because judgment has not reached you and me yet does not mean it will not. And when I am judged, I want to stand in Christ, forgiven, restored, and faithful.

Please do not let drift convince you to stop trying. If you messed up, draw a line, write start, and stay with it. Ask the Holy Spirit to empower you and help you. He will.

LORD, give me a love for you, for Christ, for the Holy Spirit, and for others. Help me finish well. Not out of duty, but a love for you and others. IJNIP amen ♥️

(AI generated photo)