Happy Ending

02/16/2004

"There is no other God;
there never has been and never will be.
I am the Lord, and there is no other Savior.
First I predicted your deliverance; I declared
what I would do, then I did it-I saved you.
No foreign god has ever done this before.
You are witnesses that I am the only God,"
says the Lord. "From eternity to eternity
I am God. No one can oppose what I do.
No one can reverse my actions."
Isaiah 43:10b-13

Aren't friends great? They encourage us in so many ways! Sometimes it's in a small way like saying, "I'm reading a great book right now! You should read it!"--And so we do! That happened to me recently in this simple way:

"P. S. My new favorite book is "Waking the Dead" by John Eldredge. I highly recommend it!"

That was it! It was that simple! And since I highly respect this friend, and since I love to read, I am doing just that and this book has already changed my life in just the first few pages as John Eldredge writes about eternity:

Pg 12: When we hear the words eternal life, most of us tend to interpret that as "a life that waits for us in eternity." But eternal means, "unending," not "later."

Not "later?" Wow! That was a revelation for me because when I think of eternity, I think of it as something I have to wait for, long for and look forward to. What I understand with this statement is that eternity is now-our eternity with God starts the day we say, "I do," and Christ becomes our Bridegroom. The day we give our lives to the very One who created us! He has already saved us from destruction, from despair, from living a life with no purpose! Our purpose is in Him, and no matter what happens each day, no matter how big of a mess we find ourselves in, no matter how great the loss or the debt or the sin, it WILL have a happy ending!

It seems we go through our lives and as we come up against difficulties and trials, we wait for them to be resolved on this earth. We look for answers that will get us past the latest set-back and we think when those answers are found, we will be happy again. But way back in the deepest recesses of our minds, we doubt. We wonder if they will ever end, if the pain will ever really go away, if the debt will ever be cleared up or if we will continue to sink deeper into the mire of life never seeing relief from the burdens we bear. Then we worry, we get stressed, we fear and we stop trusting the One True God for the outcome. We start believing in the lies.

The Good News of Jesus Christ is that no matter how deep the mire, no matter how painful the hurt, no matter what we have done or gone through, we are forgiven and we should already see the light at the end of the dark tunnel of despair because it is already there!! It is beckoning to us, "This way my child, come on, you're doing fine, keep going, I will lead you all the way through and into the place that I have prepared for you. The end will be good, you will see, just don't give up and turn away from Me. There is no one else to save you but Me. There are no other gods like me. They are false, they are untrue, they tell you lies to deceive you and distract you. I alone am your Salvation. I alone am your God. There is none like me in all the universe." (These are my words.)

Isaiah 43:1-3
Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
When you go through deep waters and
great trouble, I will be with you. When
you go through rivers of difficulty, you
will not drown! When you walk through
the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you. For I am
the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior."

But what do we do? We run scared, we turn away from the path that leads us home and we look for other "gods" to save us. We think worry will help, anger will solve, depression will bury the problem. Why don't we pray and leave it with God?

The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes.
He is trusting something that can give
him no help at all. Yet he cannot bring
himself to ask, "Is this thing, this idol
that I'm holding in my hand, a lie?"
Isaiah 44:20

Can we do that? Can we "hold in our hand" the thing we are depending on and ask ourselves if it is a lie? Can we look at it that honestly, or are we afraid what we might see? --What we might discover about ourselves, what we are doing and what we trust in? Are we willing to put all of our lives into the hands of our Creator, or do we not trust Him that much?

This is what the Lord, the Creator and Holy One
of Israel, says: "Do you question what I do? Do
you give me orders about the work of my hands?
I am the one who made the earth and created
people to live on it. With my hands I stretched
out the heavens.
Isaiah 45:11-12

Destruction is certain for those who
argue with their Creator. Does a clay
pot ever argue with its maker?
Does the clay dispute with the one
who shapes it, saying, 'Stop, you are
doing it wrong!' Does the pot exclaim,
'How clumsy can you be!'"
Isaiah 45:9

And yet, isn't that exactly what we do? We question the shaping of our lives, the paths God has us on, the divots and holes and curves and texture of what God is using to make us into the vessels He longs for us to be. Vessels that will carry His Spirit to the world as His witnesses.

Do not tremble; do not be afraid.
Have I not proclaimed from ages
past what my purposes are for you?
You are my witnesses-is there any
other God? No! There is no other
Rock-not one!"
Isaiah 44:8

I was "trembling" the other day. Jim and I both were. It seemed that the walls were crashing down upon us and that our troubles were many. It seemed we were sinking fast in the mire of life and the heat was being turned up on high. The fear started to not only creep in but to ambush us from all directions. We both started reeling from the attack that could have quickly knocked us off our feet if we were not firmly planted on solid Rock! We had to ask ourselves, "Is this thing, this idol that I'm holding in my hand, a lie?" Isaiah 44:20 The "idol" that we were holding in our "hands" was the lie that God would not save us this time.

It did not take very long to realize it was a lie from the enemy. A lie that produces fear, and fear is False Evidence Appearing Real. The enemy would like us to operate our lives full of fear. Running scared, depending on things that offer us no help-like worry. But we need to stop and think about what we are doing and realize that God is for us, not against us.

The person who made the idol never stops to reflect,
"Why, it's just a block of wood! I burned half of it
for heat and used it to bake my bread and roast
my meat. How can the rest of it be a god?
Should I bow down to worship a chunk of wood?"
Isaiah 44:19

When fear sets in we start to bow down under the pressure and we start to worship the things of this world by focusing our attention on the problems instead of the one true God! Then the enemy in all his viciousness condemns us for having the very fear he brought upon us. We start to wonder what kind of faith we have if we are having such fear, and so the vicious cycle of confusion begins as the lies of the enemy start to surround us and strangle the very breath out of us. What we need to realize is that there is a spirit of fear, that is the reality of the "war" we are in on this earth, but having fear is not the problem, the problem is what we do with it. Are we going to bow to that "idol," or bow to God and let Him handle the battle?

We need to stop in our tracks right then and there. We need to pray when the enemy says it will do us no good. We need to read the Word of God when the enemy says there is no help to be found there. We need to trust when trust is the last thing our flesh wants to do, and when we do, we will find our One True God.

If you are walking in the darkness,
without a ray of light, trust in the Lord
and rely on your God. But watch out,
you who live in your own light and warm
yourselves by your own fires. This is the
reward you will receive from me: You
will soon lie down in great torment.
Isaiah 50:10-11

Youch!! Torment is not what I am looking for in my day, no matter what the days holds. Torment is the end result of not seeking God when troubles rain down; peace is the end result of going to God with our trials and tribulations.

Does it make them all go away? Do we suddenly not have the problems that we were concerned about? No! They are usually still there but they do not have the power over us to destroy our peace when we can trust God with the outcome. God dissolves the fear, the worry, and the stress.

Because the Sovereign Lord helps me,
I will not be dismayed. Therefore, I
have set my face like a stone, determined
to do his will. And I know that I will triumph.
He who gives me justice is near. Who will
dare to oppose me now? Where are my enemies?
Let them appear! See, the Sovereign Lord is on my side!
Isaiah 50:7-9

Prayer doesn't suddenly make everything go away, it doesn't suddenly solve every problem that we have, but what it does is change our perspective on the whole situation. It makes us realize Who is in control, Who is on our side, and Who will decide our fate. It takes the lies that the enemy has placed in our hand and places it in God's hand where His truth shines on it, exposing it for what it really is.

I replied, "But my work all seems so useless!
I have spent my strength for nothing and to no
purpose at all. Yet I leave it all in the Lord's hand;
I will trust God for my reward."
Isaiah 49:4

When fear set in the other day and Jim and I seemed to be bombarded with difficulties, God called us to trust Him for the results. Only then would we find His peace in the middle of the "war."

"The Lord, your redeemer, the Holy One
of Israel, says: I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you what is good and leads
you along the paths you should follow.
Oh, that you had listened to my commands!
Then you would have had peace flowing
like a gentle river and righteousness rolling like waves.
Isaiah 48:17-18

These are not just words, these are the Words of God. He is speaking to us, He is trying to teach us His ways, He is trying to help us, and yet we refuse it so much of the time. Why? Why do we choose to worship things that cannot help us and ignore our God who can?

"Do not forget this, you guilty ones.
And do not forget the things I have
done throughout history. For I am
God-I alone! I am God and there is
no one else like me. Only I can tell
you what is going to happen even
before it happens. Everything I plan
will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish."
Isaiah 8-10

God is in control of all things! The enemy just lurks around trying to cause havoc and chaos in our lives. God is the God of peace and He longs for us to have it.

For the Lord is God, and he created
the heavens and earth and put everything
in place. He made the world a place to be
lived in, not to be a place of empty chaos.
Isaiah 45:18

That is what our lives are without Him, empty and chaotic. No truth to live by, no hope to hang on to, no eternity to look forward to. Without God and his Son Jesus Christ we are just existing in a land of confusion and worry and doubt and fear. We live in our own private torment with no way out of it if we are not bold enough to ask, "Is this thing, this idol that I'm holding in my hand, a lie?" (Is. 44:20) Do we need to fear what is happening if we are trusting God to save us?

We must ask that!! There are too many lies in this world, too many false "idols" that we cling to thinking they are of some help to us when they are not. If we cling to doubt, it will not help us. If we cling to fear, it will destroy us. If we cling to worry, it will not add a day to our lives.

Gather together and come, you fugitives
from surrounding nations. What fools
they are who carry around their wooden
idols and pray to gods that cannot save!
Consult together, argue your case, and
state your proofs that idol worship pays.
Isaiah 45:20-21

As John Eldridge writes in "Waking the Dead," we are living in a war. "Until we come to terms with war as the context of our days we will not understand life."

This world is a battlefield and we should not be surprised by the enemy's attacks. It is to be expected. I guess what we should be surprised by is where we go for help. We should be surprised that we don't turn immediately back to our Creator, but we turn everywhere else first.

Is God surprised by our actions, by our not trusting Him? I don't believe so when I read through Isaiah and see His people doing that over and over again as He warns them not to. Do they listen? No. Do we? Most times, we do not. Is it any wonder that we live in doubt and fear and chaos too many days of our lives? And we wonder where our God is, where His help is, when we need it? Are we really paying attention to Him?

"Pay attention, O Israel, for you are my
servant. I, the Lord, made you, and I will
not forget to help you. I have swept away
your sins like the morning mists. I have
scattered your offenses like the clouds.
Oh, return to me, for I have paid the
price to set you free."
Isaiah 44:21-22

Can we not hear God calling to us and longing to help us? Maybe we just aren't listening because we're too busy running elsewhere for help. Maybe we're too busy stuffing down our pain and figuring we'll deal with it later when we have time. Maybe we're missing the very best this life has to offer by not taking time to worship our One True God each day we live and fully realizing that eternity has already started here and now, when we believe in Him.

Maybe we think there's time to get our act together and thereby miss the point that this is the "First Act" of our eternity, and every "Act" that follows is part of the whole "Play" or "Life" we're living? If Eternity means "Unending" then we've already begun to live out an eternal life and it has a "Happy Ending" to all who believe. What a great story to be a part of! What a glorious way to live each day, knowing that the ending is magnificent! It's just the way we would write it ourselves, if we could!

It's like watching a movie you've already seen-one that is full of trials and tribulations, but it doesn't matter because you've seen the finish and you know that it's all going to be okay. Or better yet, it's like watching a Raider game on tape when you've already read the scores in the paper, you've already seen the highlights on the sports news, and every fumble and every interception and every yellow flag thrown with every penalty they committed doesn't even matter because you know in the last two minutes they score three touchdowns and come from behind to win the Greatest Superbowl ever played! (For those of us that are Raiders fans!)

That could be our lives, that is our lives when we trust in the One True God...we are already living out the first part of our eternity and we are assured it has a happily-ever-after ending!

No matter what our trials, our problems, our difficulties, we need not fear. We need to take it to God in prayer and stay there with Him until our peace is restored. We can choose not to, but then we choose torment...does anyone really want to live with that choice?

Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done
this wondrous thing. Shout, O earth!
Break forth into song, O mountains and
forest and every tree! For the Lord has
redeemed Jacob and is glorified in Israel.
Isaiah 44:23

What a wonderful unending eternity we all have as believers! That is the Good News! That is the Happy Ending! That is the story we all want to be a part of, isn't it?

The Final Score in the game of life: WE WIN!

Living in that peace and joy,

Diane