Finish It!

Dear reader, happy new year! I believe the reason we are alive to see this new year, 2017, is because God is giving us another opportunity to finish those projects we have abandoned over the years.

Nigeria’s former minister of finance, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala once noted that one of the reasons Nigeria had not been making progress was that we never complete projects before abandoning them. To buttress her point of fact, she statistically pointed out that Nigeria has abandoned over 8,000 projects over the years.

I think the former minister was not kidding about her statement of fact. Being the officer in charge of the nation’s treasury, she should know. She did not attribute Nigeria’s main problem to lack of money. Year in, year out, budgets are prepared and approved but the projects contained therein were rarely executed. Many of these projects were started, but they were not completed.

Now, this problem of abandonment of projects is not peculiar to the government; it is also applicable to us. If we look back at our activities over the years, we would realise that there were several projects we started, but somewhere along the line, we abandoned them and never cared to finish them. These projects could be a business, a course of study in the school, a house, relationship, etc. The list is endless.

But if we would achieve great success this year, 2017, we must go back to those projects we have abandoned and start from where we stopped, and finish them.

How to Finish Our Abandoned Projects

 There is a common proverb among my Igala people of Kogi State which says: “When you kill a snake, endeavour to cut off the head.” What this implies is that when you start something, see to it that you finish it.

There are many lessons we can learn from the book of Zechariah in the Bible. Some of these lessons border on how to accomplish abandoned projects. After Israel had returned from exile in Babylon, they laid the foundation of God’s temple, but abandoned it. God intervened by sending Zechariah, his prophet, to Zerubbabel, the Israeli leader, and people of Israel, assuring them that they could complete the building of the temple they had started, and giving them instruction on how to complete it. 

Below are three lessons we can learn from the book of Zechariah and how we can apply them in our own lives:

1.   Never Despise the Day of Humble Beginning

“For who hath despised the day of small things? For they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel…” (Zec 4:10).

One of the reasons we abandon our projects halfway without finishing them is discouragement. When we put in some efforts and we don’t see corresponding progress, we get discouraged and abandon our projects. The Israelites could have felt discouraged realising that their efforts could not be compared with that of King Solomon when he built the great temple of God in Jerusalem which the Babylonian had destroyed, and which they were trying to rebuild.

But the lesson here is that WE MUST NEVER ALLOW DISCOURAGEMENT TO MAKE US ABANDON OUR PROJECTS. WHAT IS NECESSARY TO ENSURE CONSTANT PROGRESS IS LITTLE BITS OF CONSTANT EFFORTS. Little drops of water, they say, make a mighty ocean.

Founder of Peace Corps, Mr. Dickson Akor, while looking back into the early days of Peace Corps, stated that he started the Organisation from a single room that he rented, and people laughed at him then, but today, Peace Corps had grown and spread to every state of Nigeria. In fact, at the time of writing this article (December 30, 2016), the Bill establishing Peace Corps is about being passed into law. It only requires the president’s assent.

To make 2017 a year of great accomplishment, we must go back to those projects we have abandoned and start from where we stopped. We must not get discouraged. We must keep putting in efforts until we finish them.

2.   Not By Might Nor By Power

“Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.” (Zech. 4:6-7).

We may adduce many reasons for abandoning our projects, but none of these reasons is good enough to stop us from accomplishing our projects. The lesson from the book of Zechariah is that due to mountains (oppositions and hindrances), we may not be able to finish what we started by our own might or power, but by God’s Spirit and intervention, every mountain will be levelled, and we will finish those projects we have abandoned. This is why Psalm 37:6 advices: “Commit thy way unto the Lord: trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass.”

3.   Strengthen Your Faith with the Assurance of God’s Presence and Get Committed to Finishing Your Abandoned Projects

“…they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth.” (Zech. 4: 10 b).

The great message of Christmas is “EMMANUEL,” which means, GOD IS WITH US.  The assurance of God’s presence is what we need to live a victorious life. The assurance of God’s presence is what we need to finish our abandoned projects. Almighty God is God of success, and as such, He is not interested in abandoned projects, rather, He is interested in finished projects. This is why He assured: “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house: his hands shall also finish it.” (Zech. 4:9).

What are those projects we started, which we have abandoned? God’s will for us is to accomplish them. He assures us in His Christmas message and in His Word that HE IS WITH US. And ONE WITH GOD IS MAJORITY! 

So, let us go back to those projects we have abandoned and let us begin from where we stopped. With God’s help, we will finish those projects!

Once again, CFVL wishes you a happy and prosperous new year!