Life Is Not About Style—It’s About Finishing
My biggest breakthrough so far came after I broke my fast prematurely—and God said, "Yes, it was a setup."
By the grace of God, I continue my fast today on Day 19.
Yes, I broke it last night.
Before doing so, I asked God for a sign and confirmation to break the fast. I got the sign, so I broke it with a cup of plain Greek yogurt and two spoons of avocado. The yogurt tasted like chalk. I couldn’t even finish.
Hours later, I ate four eggs with kimchi, crackers with butter, and a banana blueberry smoothie—finally calling it a night with a cup of hot milk and two chocolate biscuits.
Except for the smoothie, none of it tasted half as good as I remembered.
Oddly enough, I felt profound peace after breaking the fast. Before bed, I asked Him if I should simply end it. He didn’t answer then—but the moment I woke up this morning, He gave me a clear reply: “No.”
What followed was one of the most important conversations I’ve ever had with the Lord—the most significant, yet unsolicited, breakthrough since Day 1.
Whenever my father saw me running wild, he would tell me to sit down and talk with him behind closed doors. Those conversations were rarely about goals, careers, or success. Instead, they were always about the flaws in my character—revealed by my reactions in certain situations. My impatience, unforgiveness, arrogance, anger, tongues, selfishness—none of it escaped his notice. Yet, despite those talks, I never truly changed. I’d agree with him and try to do better, but soon enough, I was like a dog returning to its vomit.
Because I hadn’t died.
Then, when I came home for the first time after being born again, he was astonished. I never forced Christ on him with words. I showed him.
So don’t complain that your parents taught you nothing. My father taught me everything—but it was Christ who changed me.
This was exactly the pattern I had with the Heavenly Father. This morning, after I clearly heard His “No,” I again clearly heard Him telling me to sit down, grab a pen and a notebook. Such clarity doesn’t happen each day.
I said, “Speak, your servant is listening.”
He said, “You wouldn’t be listening before last night.”
“But You let me break—”
“Yes,” He said, “It was a setup.”
I sensed that He was more pleased that I failed last night than He was for the past 18 days when I’d kept a perfect record.
Then He told me the truth, so simple yet so unheard of:
“You don’t need to be perfect; you just need to finish it.”
I asked Him if I should just end the fast because it’s not perfect anymore. Obviously, God brought it to the surface so I could see what was in my heart by asking Him that question.
Life will not always be perfect. Things don’t go exactly the way we wanted them to go. But we must finish what we committed to. We stick to our promises to ourselves, to others, to God.
My intention was to finish the 21-Day Fast with perfection—no breaking in between. But now that I broke it on Day 18, I fretted because now that I have fallen, staggered, bruised, stood back up again but covered in dust, I could no longer cross the finish line elegantly like a ballerina leaping in mid-air.
I might have to crawl the last mile. That’s the ugly fact I didn’t want to face. Yet the Lord said,
“If you must crawl, crawl—but you must finish it.”
Loser is not defined by losing but by quitting.
Life is not about styles—though we hear this word “lifestyle” all the time—it’s about finishing. Everything you do, do it toward this goal, that you may say the same thing Jesus said: “It is finished!”
If I didn’t fail during these 21 days—not even once—but finished the fast with perfection, I would have been so proud of myself in my heart while praising God with my lips. By the grace and love of God, it’s no longer perfect. Now I have no pressure for perfection but have only one pure, simple goal—finish it.
"When you were perfect, you shut your ears. You fret because you lost it, but I am well pleased. If you want to please Me, seek Me—don't seek Me perfectly."
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Blessings are often neglected because they are not perfect.
Your spouse does not perfectly check your wishlist. Your children do not perfectly meet your expectations. Your parents and parents-in-law should have done better in facilitating your marriage. But all these you complain about were once only in your prayers—and are still in many people’s prayers today.
We ask for blessings; blessings come. Then we complain about the blessings. The land that flows with milk and honey is occupied by giants. The husband or wife God blessed you with pisses you off twice a month.
How much more we seek perfection than seeking God—and how much more we try to seek God perfectly than seeking Him regardless. If it pleases the Lord, then it is perfect. If it doesn’t please God, then our perfection is merely Satan’s trap.
Your goal is not to write a perfect book but to finish the book you’re writing. In all things, life is about finishing what we started, what we’re working on, and what we have committed ourselves to.
The imperfect process is like the mess and pain of labor—yet when the child is born, everything is perfect. Cookie dough and cake batter are messy, and sometimes you can’t follow the recipe exactly. But do you bake it anyway? You might be surprised to discover that even a “ruined” batch can taste heavenly. Many recipes were born from mistakes. Imperfection often gives birth to creativity.
There’s a famous Chinese proverb, “Everything is hard at the beginning”—while the truth is counterintuitive: Everything gets hard after the beginning.
Honeymoon is easy; marriage is hard.
Pregnancy is easy; parenthood is hard.
Starting a business is easy; prospering it is hard.
Relocation is easy; taking roots and bearing fruits are hard.
Leaving Egypt is easy; surviving the wilderness is hard.
Crossing the Jordan is easy; conquering the Promised Land is hard.
We celebrate—often over-celebrate—the launching of a new thing, but then slowly and quietly quit as we wade into deeper water.
You do not need a perfect journey—you just need to get there.
Keep going—or crawling—no matter what, get there.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:7-8
I have no word to express how much this mean to me. I'll keep crawling to Him
Amazing...praise God. It is so comforting to know we don't have to be perfect but rather we can learn how to take perfect rest in God..."for he knows how weak we are, he knows we are only dust". "His loving-kindness endureth forever!"