DEVOTION

Have you ever noticed when you reread a book, or re-watch a movie, the excitement level isn’t quite what it was the first time? This is particularly true about suspenseful novels or movies. Books and movies which, at one point, had us on the edges of our chairs in suspense don’t seem to have the same effect as they did the first time. They can be equally enjoyable the second go around, but the same level of anxiety is simply not there. Why is that?

Because we know the ending.

This doesn’t mean that all feelings of nervousness have disappeared; indeed all the best stories evoke these feelings every time we revisit them. But the way we experience those same feelings is quite different. The nervousness has settled a bit. It may be unpleasant at times, but there’s an underlying hope because we know how the story ends.

The same is true with sports. I’ve recorded many of my favorite games or fights and the one’s I’ve re-watched the most were the ones that caused me to clutch my arm rests in anxiety. Those are the best! They are most fun to revisit, and I anticipate the ending with much less uneasiness. We may be down for the third quarter, but I’m optimistic about the fourth. It brings a whole different level of ease to what was once a stressful situation. I’ve seen this game before.

The same is true when we go through times of anxiety in our own lives. If we knew how our stories would end, we would experience periods of uncertainty in a much different way.

The good news for us is that we can know how all of our stories end: God wins.

We can flip to the back of the book (literally) and have confidence that God’s plans will prevail. He is firmly in control, and at no point will he ever lose that control. In every one of our lives, in every one of our circumstances, in all of our anxieties, both large and small, we can flip to the back of the book and know that God is still in control; he is still sovereign, and, ultimately, he will win.

When we look at all of our individual hardships through the lens of “God wins,” we can turn down the knob of anxiety just a little bit, knowing that in all cases, there is optimism in the air.

Obviously, this does not mean we are cured from times of crises and uncertainty. All the best stories have those before the final victory. Jesus wept for Lazurus before he rose from the grave. Christ cried out in agony in Gethsemane before conquering death on the cross. All great stories have periods of great unease. But when we know the ending, we can experience that unease from a completely different perspective.

When we go through periods of uncertainty and hardships, let’s remember that we can flip to the back of the book, and know the ending. We can hold our chins up and know that, while dark days may lay ahead, there is a hopeful undertone. The story has a great ending. God’s in control and, in the end, God wins.

PRAYER

God,

I pray that you remind us, as often as needed, that you are in control, you are the Great Comforter, you have us firmly in the palm of your hands, and in the end You win.

Amen.

Jeremiah Braudrick

Director of Prison Ministry

jbraudrick@crossings.church