On Wings Of Eagles

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Wednesday, April 24, 2013

The End is Set Before We Begin


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.

1 comment:

  1. 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.

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