Paul knew that God had already planned his steps, and he wanted to finish them {Psalm 37:23 “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,”}. We all have a course to run, a course mapped out by God Himself. May we learn not to fight it, but to finish it!
Paul’s desire was to continue to preach the life changing message of God’s grace, the gospel of Jesus Christ. He was a single-minded person, and the most important goal of his life was to tell others about Jesus Christ. It is no wonder that Paul was the greatest missionary/evangelist who ever lived. With the single-mindedness, of an athlete in training, we must lay aside everything harmful and forsake anything that may distract us from being an effective, witnesses for Jesus Christ.
With God’s help and by God’s grace, we can run the race that is set before us. All that matters is that the gospel is proclaimed, souls are won for the kingdom of God, and in that, we rejoice! There is just one Person we need to run to please, Jesus Christ!