Have you ever read a good book and didn’t want the story to end? It had such an impact on you or left such an indelible impression that you wanted to not end that last chapter. You knew that turning that last page would end an experience that was pleasurable. Sometimes you even read the whole book again in order to try to capture that affinity you may have felt with the author in order feel refreshed. In our daily lives we are living out our story and each experience is akin to a chapter. Some may be wonderful while others not so gratifying. In our busy lives we need relationships to confirm, validate and admonish us. Our hearts crave these things as part of the hierarchy of human needs that God has defined within us. Our life long journey includes our interactions with one another to find out who we are, why we’re here and more importantly how to relate to God. It’s in this critical soul searching time in our lives that many find true comfort in getting to the end of a chapter.
Although we cherish happy endings sometimes it is needful for us to experience difficult seasons. To get closer to God we may be required to end some chapters in our lives. These negative “chapters” may include people, circumstances, jobs or relationships that may have served a purpose for us at one time but is now obsolete. There are many reasons why we don’t end unhealthy chapters. There could be ties, strongholds of manipulation, fear or complacency that drive us to accept a mediocre existence. Many are active in their churches, belong to several auxiliaries yet have a deficit of depth in their relationship with God. Believers today are so techie connected that we’ve allowed ourselves to become distracted, forgetting our real purpose. We are listening to the demands of our world and ignoring the voice of God after He’s given us permission to end the chapter. In order to maintain our love relationship with God some things in our lives must cease thus allowing us to find peace. When we don’t end the chapter burdens are carried that were never our own. In the aftermath of our pain we accuse God of not answering our prayers.
When we don’t end negative counter productive chapters in our lives, our need to be affirmed tends to cloud our vision hindering how we view God’s plan for our lives. God has a plan for all of us yet we often times trivialize the importance of our call in order to cater to fleshly desires. When we disobey we are in effect telling Him that He’s not enough to handle our lives. We are defying Him by sending the message that we can’t trust His leading. Could it be that we are so terrified of succeeding in God’s plan that we choose to repel His instruction? Could it be we desire to wait for “someone else” to initiate what God has in fact called us to do in order to relieve ourselves of accountability?
If we seek, trust and submit to God we are blessed beyond measure. However, this can only happen when we engage Him by laying aside the weight of negativity in our individual lives. We can find fulfillment, restoration and an unspeakable joy in our walk as believers. How joyous! God wants us to look to Him with our entire heart embracing His will. We need to grasp the gravity of how much God loves us in order to end unhealthy chapters in our lives. God has paved the way for us to live victoriously in Christ. We do not have to labor for His love, mercy or compassion. We don’t have to resist His leading because He's somehow abandoned us! We just need to listen for His still small voice. We need to obey when He tells us to leave a situation or end a relationship. God knows when it is truly time for us to end the chapter, turn the last page and simply pray. We will always be in a state of spiritual disarray if we hold on to the past.
I encourage you today to look to the future with anticipation. Greet this upcoming season in your life with expectancy. It is only then that you can turn the last page to end the chapter and fully envelop where God is taking you.
Dr. Denise J. Williams was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and has over twenty-two years of ministry experience. Her first book “The Healing Of A Broken Vessel” can be found on http://www.amazon.com. She’s currently penning her second book & resides in Jacksonville, FL with her husband.
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