“Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.” Ecclesiastes 7:8 (KJV)

I welcome you all to the month of August, our month of Supernatural Ideas and Strategies, in Jesus’ mighty name.

Beginnings are often associated with celebrations—a new family through marriage, admission into a higher institution through matriculation, the birth of a new baby, and so on.

However, beginnings are not always as sweet and rosy as we think they will be in real-life experience. We have many real-life stories of people who had very tough and rough beginnings but did not give up.

We are unconsciously raising a generation of people who cannot endure any hardship whatsoever in life. If something seems too complex, they simply give up. This mindset has also crept into marriages. Some people cannot persevere through difficult times with their partners. Rather than work things out, they back out immediately—and that’s the end.

The same also applies to some of the relationships many of you are building right now. Everything has been good all along, but the moment life takes a turn that does not suit you, you immediately dissolve the relationship.

Statistically, about 90% of startup businesses do not last more than 2–3 years before shutting down. This is because many people go into business just to make money. Of course, making profit is one of the goals of a business, but you don’t start a business today and begin making profits immediately.

You admire millionaires and billionaires, but you really don’t know what these people lost just to get to where they are today. Some lost millions of naira before they eventually succeeded. Some of them hardly sleep for up to four hours in 24 hours, almost throughout the year, just to sustain the success they have achieved.

You don’t see that part, yet you claim their influence and wealth by faith. Life is not going to become soft for you; you are the one who must develop a tough skin to navigate difficult times.

We all love the happy ending. As our text says, “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof.” But I’ve come to tell you that if you do not endure and persevere through the beginning, there will be no better ending for you.

So, don’t give up. Keep pushing, and ask God for the grace to finish well, in Jesus’ name. Amen.