Beginnings and endings are important. A right beginning is often the key to a good ending.
We are currently at the end of a season in one place and about to start a season in another. Our lives consist these days of short seasons in many places, so there are lots of beginnings and lots of endings, and we need to get all of them as right as we can.
I don’t know about you, but I never watch a movie that doesn’t come with a guarantee of a happy ending.
Happy endings are what all of us want. And when it doesn’t turn out that way, it is deeply troubling, disappointing and often hurtful.
And that’s when we begin to ask God why he allowed these things to happen. Sometimes we blame him and walk away.
Most of our problems, of course, are created by us, or by our wrong responses to situations we face. Disappointing outcomes are often the result of wrong expectations. We are disillusioned because we believed an illusion to begin with.
When the ending isn’t happy, we need to look not at God or at others, but at ourselves. We need to ask God to show us why things went wrong. An unhappy ending can become a learning experience which ensures future endings are happier.
Maybe we also need to ask ourselves whether we are too focussed on our own happiness. Maybe we need to trust God that if we commit to following Jesus regardless of the cost, the bumps in the road will turn out to be kingdom investments that, if only we persevere, will bring much blessing.
A mindset expecting instant results will generate many bitter endings, but an attitude of persevering through the pain will sooner or later reap a harvest of unfathomable joy.
The apostle Paul tells us we are all running a race. God helps us by setting up markers to keep us on track. The race begins with us meeting Jesus, and ends with us meeting the Father at the finish line and receiving our reward.
In a few days, I will take the funeral service for my mother Gladys, who went home to be with Jesus at the age of 98. When she was 51, she nearly died and was in hospital for three months. God answered our prayers and gave her 47 more years after that. Since my dad went home in 2006, all she had wanted was to be with the Lord and to see my dad again. Now she has her reward.
And that reward is the happy ending all of us should be focussed on.
Have you gone off track? Recalibrate. Have you had a sad ending? Get your eyes back on Jesus; there’s hope for you yet.
And always run the race with the end in sight. That will go a long way to making sure your ending is the happiest one possible.
CONSIDER PARTNERING WITH DAVID & ELAINE CAMPBELL IN HELPING TO SUSTAIN THEIR ACTIVE MINISTRY.
AWAKENING MINISTRIES // FOUNDATION of FAITH Project
Foundation of Faith Project is strengthening generations in faith and bringing beautiful changes to the communities around them. Through teaching, mentoring and coaching, many are finding out who they are and who they are destined to be. They are bringing more to their world. David Campbell is the key leader in this initiative and you can support him financially directly through Awakening Ministries.
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