The End

Pastor Tim Howard
May 30, 2009

I was seventeen years old and a senior in High School when my mother became ill. That was a difficult season for the whole family and especially hard for a teenager like myself. Even though the doctors did everything within their power, they confronted a battle that they would eventually lose in the physical realm. She died in 1969 at the age of 51 years.

If you have ever had a close friend or family member ‘pass on’ then you know the myriad of emotions that make you feel like you’re on a rollercoaster. At times you may experience deep pain because of the loss and shed many tears. A feeling of disbelief and denial may overcome you because it seems so surreal. Then out of nowhere, a sense of great joy may arise because you realize how special that person has been to you personally. Emotions are powerful and very real. When Jesus went to the graveside of Lazarus, a dear friend of his, we are told “He Wept.” Something emotionally stirred within him that revealed how much he loved this man.

When death happens, one of the emotions that often visits people is fear. It comes in all different shapes and sizes but frequently it is a fear of the unknown. It doesn’t only visit when a person faces the possibility of physical death because the life and death cycle go far beyond the physical demise. Death signifies THE END of something. It happens whenever something comes to a conclusion. When your marriage ends in divorce, when your job comes to an end, when a child leaves home at the age of 21 to begin a new season apart from the parents. Experiences like this, suggest that an ending of something is at hand and fear of the unknown will often try to take root. When allowed to grow unchecked, life becomes a struggle; ‘letting go’ becomes very difficult and trouble begins to set in.

Maybe that’s why Jesus said in John 14:1-3, “Don’t be troubled (afraid). You trust God, now trust in me. There are many rooms in my Father’s home, and I am going to prepare a place for you. If this were not so, I would tell you plainly. When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.”

Simply stated, you don’t need to be troubled or ruled by fear when everything around you screams it’s ‘The End.’ Why? Jesus has prepared a future for you. The future is not unknown. God has a plan for you and it is a good plan. From God’s perspective, the end is really an opportunity for a new beginning.

If you have reached the end of your rope in a relationship or possibly you’re involved in a dead-end career. Maybe voices keep telling you it’s over. Please hear the words of our creator. This isn’t the end it’s only a new beginning. The best is yet to come! These words are spoken in loving memory of Dee Felleke, a woman of faith who is beginning a new season in the presence of Jesus Christ. She went to be with her Lord and Savior on Wednesday, May 20, 2009. She wants you to know the best is yet to come.