The End Game

And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.  Revelation 21:5-6 (KJV)

What is God up to?  What is His purpose for my life?  Why does He allow us to go through difficult times and endure hardship?  These questions permeate the minds of God’s people.  Even for those that say they trust the Lord it is hard not to ask, why?  Why did I lose my job?  Why did my spouse leave me?  Why did I get sick?  Why did I lose my loved one?  Why are there wars and famine?  Why do evil people seem to prosper while good people endure hardship?  The list of whys can go on and on.

Know this, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground it cannot bring about new life.  Written in the laws of God is the principle of the sowing.  Bundled in the tiny seed that has fallen from the stock that withered is the potential that only God can see.  Who can count the number of trees one tiny acorn can produce?  Inside that which was cast off from the mighty oak lies another tree.  Inside that tree lies thousands of acorns each able to produce more trees.  I have several oak trees around my property and I routinely rake up the acorns that fall to the ground.  All that I see are the tiny cast offs of from the wonderful shade tree that graces my yard but I am caught in a moment of time.  God is not.

We are all like that.  We live in this hour and enjoy the usefulness of the things we are blessed to have around us.  Every possession, every friendship, every love, is viewed through the lens of our own limitations.  But God is not subject to our limitations.  He sees the acorn and counts the trees.  Imagine how different our decisions would be if we could measure the souls touched by our kindness or the hearts mended by just a word of grace and mercy.  Instead of responding in shallow haste we would measure every word, every action, every thought in the light of eternity.  That is how God decides. 

Yes, His ways are higher than ours, His purpose more pure, His thoughts infinitely clearer and I know that I can trust Him.  Our verse this week reveals that God is sitting upon His throne and He is making all things new.  From the ashes of our lives He brings forth beauty.  He is not discouraged by what we see as failures but instead God is looking beyond our faults and seeing the unimaginable.  There is no life so lost that God cannot use it.  No heart so dark that God cannot cause light to spring forth.  No circumstance so dire that God is not in the midst of it.  He has not abandoned us.  God sits on His throne and speaks strength to the weary, hope to the abandoned, and life to the dead.