Isaiah 46:10 (NIV)
I make known the end from the beginning,
from ancient
times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,
and I will do
all that I please.’
Reading is one of my wife’s favorite pastimes. She has
numerous books, so many that I think she should open her own library. We very
rarely throw anything away, unless it is truly valueless, so the library
continues to grow.
All of these books have one thing in common: The end is
set before we begin start reading them. The outcome has already been determined
by the pen of the author, and all depending upon the actions of the characters,
they either end up in triumph or in utter defeat.
Despite the fact that authors usually know the final
outcome long before the book is completed, they often give their characters
opportunities to redeem themselves. Those are the books I truly enjoy, for they
remind me of how God truly is. Despite everything that has happened in the
history of the Earth, He still yearns that all of us be saved for eternity.
That’s His greatest wish!
The problem is that most of us are hard of hearing!
"The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.
Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to
come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9
Even more accurately than any author, God knows the end
from the beginning, and He is there to sustain us through whatever that our journey takes us through. What fills
me with hope is that He knows my end from the beginning. In other words, I have
nothing, absolutely nothing to worry about, even if, like an object caught up
in the flow of a draining sink, my health is failing and my life is falling
apart.
Jesus Himself can vouch for that, too. Though He knew
what would happen to Him, the only time He was anxious about Calvary was just
moments before His arrest. And even this anxiety was temporary. Jesus knew His
end from the beginning. He knew that in all reality, it wasn’t the “end” at
all! It was truly only the beginning!
How did He do it?
Though His heart was completely devoted to saving us all,
and though He would have done it to save even just one of us, I am certain that
Jesus was much more focused on the resurrection part than on the suffering
part.
Because God knows our end from the beginning, we have
truly nothing to fear. We may not always like what we are going through,
especially if suffering is involved, but we don’t need to be obsessed by our
circumstances, for these will soon be over! Jesus has planned our new home for
eternity, and all of our tribulations on earth are but temporary
inconveniences, trials that can be likened to a blink of the eye when compared
to eternity with our Forever Friend.
"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving
for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on
what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what
is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:17-18
All is for a reason, everything is destined to be an
opportunity for us to begin trusting God completely.
Next time you pick up a book or look at a book let it
remind you that God knows the end and He is there to sustain us through whatever
that our journey takes us through.
Dear Lord, we thank You for being the author of our life.
Thank You for always being with us through the journey. In Jesus, Name, Amen.
This is a wonderful analagy! God is the greatest author of all. An encouragement every day to know than He has planned and knows the ending.
ReplyDelete