We Know The Ending

The movie screen explodes into action.  Music blares loudly as a car tears across the screen at 100 MPH. The man driving the car has a crazed look on his face, eyes bulging and red as he glares into the rear-view mirror at the woman and child in the back seat who are screaming frantically at the top of their lungs.  Two friends sit in the audience watching the movie together. One of them has seen the movie before but the other one has not. The friend watching for the first time has both hands over her face peaking in horror through the small gap in her fingers as the car approaches the rising drawbridge. Will they make it across or will they crash into the river below? The other friend who has seen it before sits relaxed and totally calm, knowing that they will make it. She knows the end. She laughs at her friend tentatively though she remembers she did the same thing when she saw it for the first time.

As followers of Christ we should rejoice and relax even during times of trouble because we know the ending as well.  As Paul says in Romans 8:28, “and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose”. Notice that Paul says “in all things”. He doesn’t say “in all good things” or “all comfortable things”. He says “all things” which includes the good and the bad, the comfortable and the uncomfortable. 

Sometimes, when I think about the journey my life has taken, I realize that everything that happened on that journey had to happen just as it did for me to have the blessings I have today. This includes of course all of the things I considered bad at the time but actually turned out to be for my good in the long run. If one of those so called bad things did not happen then maybe something better would not have happened. It is times like these when I see the hand of God reaching down and guiding me in the right direction bringing me back to His purpose which is always for my good. I’ve noticed also that my path has been much easier during those times when I resisted God the least. The more I’ve followed God’s will instead of mine the easier my life has been. 

It is natural and easy to thank God for the good things in our life. However, if we truly believe that God has our best interest at heart at all times shouldn’t  we also thank Him for the bad as well? By doing this we submit our lives to God’s will and trust that in all things He will be faithful and bring us to a more wonderful place than we could have ever imagined if we had tried it on our own. 

There are three things I try to do when I’m going through a difficult season in life. First, I give it to God by asking that His will be done in the situation because anything done according to His will is ultimately blessed. Second, rather than asking God to take it away from me, I thank him for walking with me through the difficult time. Third, I ask Him to reveal what I can learn from the situation and more importantly how it fits into the greater good that he has planned for my life.

If we do these things then we can know that the ending will always turn out for our good so why not start with the ending in mind instead of worrying  during the rough parts of the journey? Isn’t it wonderful being the one who knows how it will end?

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

John 14:27