DAILY DEVOTIONAL – June 23, 2020
“End to Begin“
Prayer: : Our eternal and gracious Lord, we thank you for the end; the end of sin, death and the devil that You have so mercifully won for us through the life, death and resurrection of Your beloved Son Jesus. It’s in His name we put our trust and pray. Amen.
Scripture: Lamentations 3:22-26
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul who seeks him.
26 It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
Devotional – “End to Begin”
We have all heard the idiom before, “all good things must come to an end.” Almost invariably, this saying is spoken to help oneself or help others yield to the inevitability that nothing, even the good things in life, last forever. To say, “all good things must come to an end” is to communicate a resigned acceptance of something that you would rather not have to accept.
Although none of us want the good times to come to an end, endings are good things. Without an ending, we cannot truly value or cherish something in its entirety. Without an ending, there can never be the excitement about what may lie ahead. Ultimately, endings are what bring purpose and meaning and importance to events and experiences in life; whether those be good or bad.
There is nothing in this life that is perfect. Every experience no matter how great at the time, is still flawed. The best meal you have ever had in your life, should have an ending, otherwise that fantastic meal will eventually bring you pain. You can only vacation so long until you start to miss home. Everybody gets tired, everything shiny will eventually lose its luster and no matter how strong or resilient, everything in this life eventually breaks down.
The phrase “all good things must come to an end” reminds us that everything is temporary, and that reality is what makes our passage from Lamentations today all the more impactful!
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
Amazing grace how sweet the sound – and God’s grace is so amazing in large part because it is never ending. An end to all things in this life is an unavoidable reality because of our brokenness and sinfulness. However, there is nothing broken or sinful at all about our holy and righteous, eternal Heavenly Father. He is eternal, and His mercy is eternal.
But you know what, even the need for God’s active mercy and forgiveness each and every day will have an end. Don’t misunderstand me here, God is always perfectly loving and merciful, but His need to daily forgive our sins for Christ’s sake will no longer be needed when our Lord Jesus who rose from the dead and ascended to heaven comes back again for the final time to bring into fullness the victory over sin and death and the devil that He has already won for us on the cross. Jesus said while hanging on our cross, “It is finished”, and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. The penalty for sin has been paid, God’s wrath and judgement against the sins of the world has been fully satisfied in and through the perfect sacrifice of His precious Son in our place.
Anyone who believes in the Lord Jesus as their Savior and God has already received complete forgiveness for all sins past present and future, however, as we well know that doesn’t mean we have stopped sinning or no longer need God’s expedient mercies all day every day. That day will come however, when we are taken home to our heavenly Father, when Christ comes to bring us to the new heavens and new earth as new and perfect beings – just as He is. Whether that day comes when our days on this earth come to an end, and our bodies die, or when Christ returns at any moment and we are transformed in the twinkling of an eye – either way, the end, our end in this life will come. God will bring to full completion the salvation he has provided in the blood of His Son Jesus. As Philippians 1:6 says, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
In the end, friends, even the end will have an end. Death will have an end. As Jesus told Mary and Martha as they turned to the Lord for comfort at the death of their brother Lazarus, Jesus told them, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.”
So take comfort and hope my friends, knowing that for everyone who believes in Jesus, we have a very happy ending ahead of us; one where we live with our precious Lord Jesus in the presence and eternal Light of God happily ever after. And I assure you, that is no fairy tale, it is the truth – for you and me and for those whom we love that have already realized their happily ever after with Jesus.
Knowing that all things will come to an end brings hope for the faithful, and the Holy Spirit strengthens us through that knowledge of the end to help us persevere and endure through those times in life that we wish would come to an end quickly. We endure patiently and hopefully as we wait on the Lord, even through the worst of times, because we know how our story will end.
As Paul encourages us in Romans 5, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
We have a magnificent ending ahead of us friends, thanks to Jesus. It is an end that is also a glorious eternal beginning; the beginning of happily ever after with Jesus and our Heavenly Father that is beyond imagination. John gives us just a blink into that happy ending in Revelation 21:3-4 when He says, “God will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Thanks for spending time with me today in God’s Word, and remember, that God has forgiven yesterday, is with you today and has already taken care of tomorrow. Amen.
