Remember How It Ends

I admit it: I jumped on the Hunger Games bandwagon this past winter. When some of my middle school Bible study girls were excitedly talking about the movie release and informing me on what exactly was The Hunger Games, I thought to myself: "Oh boy. New craze. Sounds ridiculous, disturbing, and depressing." Not until my older brother confessed to reading the entire book in one night did I begin to think that maybe there was something to all this. I don't remember how quickly I consumed the book (or maybe how quickly it consumed me), but I read it. When I finished, I was furious. That being said, when the movie came out on DVD this past weekend, Jordan and I decided to seize the opportunity and rent it from the Redbox.

Although I knew how the movie was going to end; although I knew who was going to live and how various awful deaths occurred, it didn't stop me from getting anxious during the movie. It didn't stop me from closing my eyes at scenes that made me scared. It didn't stop my heart from racing with the tension on the movie. In fact, in between bites of popcorn, I commented to Jordan: "Knowing how it ends doesn't make watching it any easier."

Whether you've read The Hunger Games or seen the movie doesn't really matter to how you can relate to this blog post. Think of any high-action movie you've seen more than once. Or another book you've read turned into a film. You may know how it's going to end -- but that doesn't mean the action falls flat or the intensity loses its zing.

Our lives are a little bit like that, aren't they? God's Word tells us how it's all going to end: how Satan will be destroyed, how Jesus will come back and rescue His people, how those who trust in Him will dwell eternally with Him in a new heaven and a new earth:

"And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. . . .Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth . . . and I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem . . . And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.' And He who sits on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.'" - Revelation 20:10; 21:1-5

But that knowledge doesn't necessarily make living life any easier, does it? Knowing how this story of earth and our troubles is going to end doesn't take away the anxiety and fear of our current situations. Why do you suppose that is?

Maybe it's because the pain is so great we can't take our eyes off of it. Maybe it's because we hold onto the burdens ourselves, rather than entrusting them to the only One who can do anything about them. Maybe it's because we lack faith in the Lord and place it in ourselves instead.

Whatever difficult situation you find yourself in: remember Who wins in the end. Keep your eyes focused on Him. And when the present seems to much to bear, remember His promises. You're not alone.

"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?" - Romans 8:31