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PINIMAGEA long time ago, I heard a quote, “God is a God of happy endings. If it isn’t happy, it’s not the end.”
I really liked that quote, but I spent a lot of time pondering its truth. Doesn’t it sound a little too good to be true? Like, if you are God’s child, you are always going to be happy.
As I face difficulty and pain, it’s been my natural desire to look for the quickest exit plan – to get back to happy as fast as possible. But often, in my experiences, God doesn’t wave a magic wand and make me happy. At times He allows me to walk painful paths that stretch on with no end in sight. Oddly enough, in those times, I have experienced Him in the most profound ways.
Isn’t that why God encourages joy – not happiness?
We are told happiness is fleeting, but joy remains?
Joy can be experienced even amid sorrow. So, should Christians seek happiness at all? Or just settle into joy?
Is the idea of joy God’s substitute or a consolation prize for happiness when things don’t work out? I mean, everyone wants to be happy, right?
I used to struggle with such thoughts when I have faced hardship. And I can honestly say from experience, joy from the Lord IS NOT a consolation to happiness. Joy has sustained me in the darkest seasons of my life. I’ve even said, at times, joy is a gift wrapped up in pain. There is a mystery to the depths of joy. Frankly, I have learned I long for it more than happiness.
But does God also want us to be happy? Is God a God of happy endings?
The other day I was jotting some thoughts in my journal. I had been praying about our culture’s present condition: the division, the anger, the ugliness. I thought about how, when I was a girl, things were nowhere near this bad. Life seemed so much simpler then. Maybe you’ve thought that too. Then the phrase came to my mind, “All good things must come to an end.”
You’ve heard that phrase before, Right? You’ve had a great vacation or a great dinner or a great gathering with loved ones, and someone says upon leaving, “Well, I guess all good things must come to an end.”
As I transferred the phrase from my thoughts to my journal, almost immediately the words, “but of His kingdom there shall be no end.” followed.
It looked like this,
“All good things must come to an end…but of His kingdom there shall be no end.” (Isaiah 9:7)
Immediately my heart swelled with happiness.
His Kingdom!
That’s one good thing that will never end.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about His eternal kingdom. He rules His kingdom even now. It’s a real and perfect place. I have thought about seeing God face to face. Thinking about going there, I get weak in the knees. And Jesus! He will not only be there, but He will know me by name. In fact, He’s preparing a place for me in God’s kingdom. He said in John 14:2-3,
In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
I am a citizen of God’s Kingdom because of Jesus! What peace and happiness it brings when I am tempted to ask, “Have all good things come to an end?”
I am getting ready to teach through the book of Revelation in our church’s women’s Bible study. It’s the last book in the Bible and tells us of things to come. I know there are many speculations to the imagery we see in its pages, but one thing is certain, God is sovereign, and the end belongs to Him.
God is sovereign, and the end belongs to Him.
Revelation 21: 1-5 describes John’s vision given to him by the Lord. He said, Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also, he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.“
Do you know Him?
Humble yourself and call on Him. It takes childlike faith to believe and turn to God. He is not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) You can have a personal relationship with Him today!
John 3:16-19 says, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
2 Corinthians 6:2 says, “Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
If you have questions or want to know more about a relationship with God as He shows us in His Word, message me on Facebook or e-mail me at tammy@tammyontuesday.com.
How about you, believer? Have you been gripped with fear and uncertainty? Have you forgotten the promised happy ending for those who are in Christ? I encourage you to search the scriptures and meditate on the promises of God for His children. In Him, all peace, joy, AND happiness are found. Even happy endings. Are you sharing this good news while there is still time?
1 Corinthians 2:9 says, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.”
Let’s fix our eyes on God today. Call upon Him if you haven’t yet done so. Believer, rejoice because, through Him, we know not all good things come to an end. He’s the God of happy endings.
