Reason #653
Sometimes the Lord picks a really unusual time to speak to me. Usually, it's when I am in the shower. At least, that was the case today. And as I washed my hair, I thought about life.
I think we've all, at least once in our lives, muttered something about life not being fair. Maybe it was concerning our own life and maybe it was in response to someone else's current state. But I think we can all agree that more often than not, life seems to be quite unfair. I've thought this very thing quite a few times, myself. Yet this morning, as I was thinking about life and about it's fairness, or lack thereof, the Lord reminded me that He is, and always has been, in control.
"It is finished..."
We all know these words. The last 3 words that left Jesus' mouth. It is finished. He had been arrested and sentenced to death, neither of which were fair. Then, he was beaten. His skin was ripped open as He received lash after lash. Deep cuts covered His body as He was forced to carry His very own execution instrument on the walk to His death. A crown of thorns was forced on to his head. Blood ran down His face, stinging His eyes. His vision, blurred with the very blood that was unfairly being shed. Hands and feet nailed to a cross. One, two, three pounds of a hammer and his skin was broken. Sharp metal driving through bones and flesh, muscles, nerves, and veins. And although His death was near, although the ending was playing out as a complete nightmare, it wasn't over. His body, lifted up for all to see. He kept breathing in life despite the fact that life was slowly escaping Him. Offering forgiveness, extending grace, and giving hope in His final hours. It wasn't over. The end was near but He wasn't finished. He wasn't finished living out God's plan. He wasn't finished fulfilling the very reason He came. And so He stayed there, waiting. He kept on going, kept on living. Being mocked, spat upon, rejected, humiliated. He stayed. The hours went by, the time drug out, they were waiting for Him to die. They put Him on that cross to do so. It was what they had intended. But noticed who called the last shots. Notice who determined when it really was finished. Jesus. And until He spoke those very last words, it wasn't over.
"It is finished..."
The mess of life was finished. Living life without hope was finished. Life, itself wasn't finished. The bad part was.
Maybe you've been to that point before where you just felt like your life is over. That it is just one big mess that has turned into a complete nightmare. This wasn't what you had envisioned for yourself. This isn't how you thought it would go down. But it just keeps getting worse. How will you ever rebound or recover from this? Will you ever? Because you've been waiting on a spouse forever. You've been holding out hope that they'd be here by now, but they're not. And you've been trying and trying and trying to have a baby but it's not working. You've tried everything under the sun and you're still childless. You're tired of being sick, tired of getting bad diagnosis after bad diagnosis. You've been asking for healing, taken every medicine possible, but your body won't accept it. Or maybe you've been desperately fighting for your marriage. You've been pleading and begging and asking for it to be saved. You've gone to counseling, asked for forgiveness, and the divorce papers are still being served. Your job hunt is proving to be fruitless. Interview after interview and no offer has been given. Your bank account is dwindling and so is your confidence. And so you find yourself in the pits. The darkest spot you've been. It hurts, you're miserable, the pain won't go away, and your heart is broken because you just knew it was going to turn out better than this.
It's not over until He says it's over. Because the truth of the matter is, with everything in life, the Lord has the final say. He's going to call the last shot. He's going to determine when this season of your life is finished. And so don't give up. Hang in there even though it hurts. Don't lose faith even though everything else seems to be falling part. It's not over until He says it's over. Because He has you here for a reason. You're living out the plan He has for your life. And so don't stop. Don't quit living it. Keep breathing, and hang in there. Because God has plan in all of this, no matter how messy it may get. He has a plan to bring hope, to bring joy, to bring fulfillment and goodness. He's got a way out of this already prepared for you, you just have to trust Him as He leads you through it. Because one day, it will be finished. One day, this will all be over. The thing is, we have to be faithful to allow God's plan to supersede ours even if it isn't what we initially wanted. And, more importantly, we have to be obedient and wait on Him to make His plan complete.
I praised God this morning that it is finished. That He finished a life of darkness so that I could live a life of hope. That He gave me the strength to hang in there, to keep on going, until He was finished walking me through a tough season. And when He is finished with one thing, you can believe He is at work doing something new. Something more incredible that we could imagine. And so trust Him until it is finished. Cling to Him until this is over and He has brought forth something new. And in the meantime, remember that no matter what the doctor says, no matter what the lawyer, judge, society, popular belief, or the government says, God is the one who is calling the final shot. He will determine how things turn out according to His perfect plan.
#653 - Because it's not over until He says it is over.
"Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and released his spirit." - John 19:28-30
I think we've all, at least once in our lives, muttered something about life not being fair. Maybe it was concerning our own life and maybe it was in response to someone else's current state. But I think we can all agree that more often than not, life seems to be quite unfair. I've thought this very thing quite a few times, myself. Yet this morning, as I was thinking about life and about it's fairness, or lack thereof, the Lord reminded me that He is, and always has been, in control.
"It is finished..."
We all know these words. The last 3 words that left Jesus' mouth. It is finished. He had been arrested and sentenced to death, neither of which were fair. Then, he was beaten. His skin was ripped open as He received lash after lash. Deep cuts covered His body as He was forced to carry His very own execution instrument on the walk to His death. A crown of thorns was forced on to his head. Blood ran down His face, stinging His eyes. His vision, blurred with the very blood that was unfairly being shed. Hands and feet nailed to a cross. One, two, three pounds of a hammer and his skin was broken. Sharp metal driving through bones and flesh, muscles, nerves, and veins. And although His death was near, although the ending was playing out as a complete nightmare, it wasn't over. His body, lifted up for all to see. He kept breathing in life despite the fact that life was slowly escaping Him. Offering forgiveness, extending grace, and giving hope in His final hours. It wasn't over. The end was near but He wasn't finished. He wasn't finished living out God's plan. He wasn't finished fulfilling the very reason He came. And so He stayed there, waiting. He kept on going, kept on living. Being mocked, spat upon, rejected, humiliated. He stayed. The hours went by, the time drug out, they were waiting for Him to die. They put Him on that cross to do so. It was what they had intended. But noticed who called the last shots. Notice who determined when it really was finished. Jesus. And until He spoke those very last words, it wasn't over.
"It is finished..."
The mess of life was finished. Living life without hope was finished. Life, itself wasn't finished. The bad part was.
Maybe you've been to that point before where you just felt like your life is over. That it is just one big mess that has turned into a complete nightmare. This wasn't what you had envisioned for yourself. This isn't how you thought it would go down. But it just keeps getting worse. How will you ever rebound or recover from this? Will you ever? Because you've been waiting on a spouse forever. You've been holding out hope that they'd be here by now, but they're not. And you've been trying and trying and trying to have a baby but it's not working. You've tried everything under the sun and you're still childless. You're tired of being sick, tired of getting bad diagnosis after bad diagnosis. You've been asking for healing, taken every medicine possible, but your body won't accept it. Or maybe you've been desperately fighting for your marriage. You've been pleading and begging and asking for it to be saved. You've gone to counseling, asked for forgiveness, and the divorce papers are still being served. Your job hunt is proving to be fruitless. Interview after interview and no offer has been given. Your bank account is dwindling and so is your confidence. And so you find yourself in the pits. The darkest spot you've been. It hurts, you're miserable, the pain won't go away, and your heart is broken because you just knew it was going to turn out better than this.
It's not over until He says it's over. Because the truth of the matter is, with everything in life, the Lord has the final say. He's going to call the last shot. He's going to determine when this season of your life is finished. And so don't give up. Hang in there even though it hurts. Don't lose faith even though everything else seems to be falling part. It's not over until He says it's over. Because He has you here for a reason. You're living out the plan He has for your life. And so don't stop. Don't quit living it. Keep breathing, and hang in there. Because God has plan in all of this, no matter how messy it may get. He has a plan to bring hope, to bring joy, to bring fulfillment and goodness. He's got a way out of this already prepared for you, you just have to trust Him as He leads you through it. Because one day, it will be finished. One day, this will all be over. The thing is, we have to be faithful to allow God's plan to supersede ours even if it isn't what we initially wanted. And, more importantly, we have to be obedient and wait on Him to make His plan complete.
I praised God this morning that it is finished. That He finished a life of darkness so that I could live a life of hope. That He gave me the strength to hang in there, to keep on going, until He was finished walking me through a tough season. And when He is finished with one thing, you can believe He is at work doing something new. Something more incredible that we could imagine. And so trust Him until it is finished. Cling to Him until this is over and He has brought forth something new. And in the meantime, remember that no matter what the doctor says, no matter what the lawyer, judge, society, popular belief, or the government says, God is the one who is calling the final shot. He will determine how things turn out according to His perfect plan.
#653 - Because it's not over until He says it is over.
"Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and released his spirit." - John 19:28-30
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