From the drifting apart of friends and the terminations of rental agreements to the end of a job, endings are a natural part of everyday life. Some are more distressing than others, the passing of a loved one or an acrimonious divorce but usually when any thing that was once good comes to an end, there is a sense of sorrow.
It's inevitable that a lot of the elements that make up our lives and give us joy will eventually come to an end. But that doesn't mean our lives or the joy we feel has to stop when they do. The primary source of our joy needs to be fixed in order for us to stay hopeful and optimistic in the face of closing doors.
There will be those among us who deal with endings better than us. And it won't be because they shrug things off as being irrelevant but because they derive their joy, for the most part, from He who has no expiry date - God (Isaiah 40:8, Hebrews 13:8).
Realising that God is central to our happiness and taking steps to convey this belief through our actions can help us to cope better with passing of temporary fixtures in our lives. It's often said that when one door closes another door opens. As Christians, we can trust that no matter how many doors close to us here on earth, the one that leads to our Father in heaven, the one that provides us with unlimited and unwavering elation is always open to us.
Things in our past may have been good but what God has to give us in our future is always much greater...
Isaiah 43:18-19 - "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland."
Luke 9:62 - Jesus replied, "No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."
Endings can seem final and give us reason to be sad but there is always a light at the end of the tunnel as God can use these moments for good...
Romans 8:28-29 - 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. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
Our vision is limited but there will come a time when we gain a fuller understanding of His works...
1 Corinthians 13:12 - For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
Romans 8:18 - I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
