Warren W. Wiersbe is a fabulous writer. In his classic, The Bumps are What You Climb On, there is a chapter “How to Keep Going”. It provides the seed thought for this lesson.

Paul did not count his life of any value. What he did value was to finish the course and the ministry. “But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course, and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus…” (Acts 20:24, ESV). A close look at this verse reveals three personal phrases for the daily climb. They are: my life; my course; and my ministry.

My Life
Paul knew his life was a treasure. Warren Wiersbe said, “His life was not a treasure for him to guard; it was a treasure for him to invest…” See Colossians 3:1-4 and Romans 12:1-2.

God has a great plan for your life. Conform to it. Run with it! Live it! It requires daily pulling yourself onto the altar of sacrifice and surrendering our lives for His highest purpose.

“The LORD Almighty has sworn, "Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand”.
The “course” speaks of life’s race. We are all assigned our own track; our special lane. Wiersbe said, “The important thing is that we obey the rules, keep running for the prize, and stay in the correct lane.” Paul’s aspiration was to run his race well. He kept his eyes in his own lane; not that of someone else.

Yes, there will be obstacles that come our way. No one promised it would be easy. In fact, “race” comes from the word that means “agony.” It’s tough. It’s worth it. You can make it. There are patriarchs of old cheering you on. See Hebrews 12:1;1 Corinthians 9:27; and 1 Corinthians 9:24.
Let us be careful never to do anything that will disqualify us from the race or ministry, and be destructive to our Christian lives.

My Course
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7, NKJV).

We are not in competition with anyone else. Everyone can run his own race and win his own prize.

In life’s race there are times when we trip, falter, give up, and occasionally retreat. What should we do? Get up and keep moving. It is not how one starts the race or how fast one runs that is so important, but how one ends. See Ecclesiastes 9:11.

You just can’t keep a godly man or woman down. Trip them time after time. They won’t stay down long. They’ll jump back on their feet again. Why? They are in a race. They are destined to win! Dust off the dirt, and keep running. Heaven is your goal! “Well done” is your expected commendation. Don’t look back. Keep your eyes on the goal. See Philippians 3:12-13 and 2 Timothy 4:5-8.

My Ministry
Each of us has a vision to fulfill. We are to make jam-packed proof of our ministry. God has placed us all in the body. We are not all the same. We do not operate the same. There is strength in unity and in our diversity. Each has different gifting, talents, and ministries. We are not called to compete with each other, but to complete one another. Learn to operate within your ministry. When you use your talents, God will perfect them for His glory, and may even give you more talents. Remember the parable of the talents. You lose what you don’t use. Use and God will give you more. The purpose of ministry is to prepare God’s people for acts of service in God’s kingdom (Ephesians 4:11-12). We are here on earth to advance the kingdom!

Wiersbe concluded, “My life—my course—my ministry. It would be good to repeat those three phrases at the beginning of each day, for they help us take inventory of our spiritual experience.”