It seems that at the end of every year, we all look forward to starting a new year. The thought of beginning with a clean slate and starting over is often refreshing, especially if we don’t feel like the old year has been kind to us or we haven’t measured up to our own ideals. But, what if we reversed our thoughts in celebrating the end of the year rather than rejoicing in the new? Solomon said, “The end of a thing is better than its beginning (Ecc. 7:8). It really sounds opposite of everything we’ve known until we think about the wisdom in hindsight. The old expression, “Hindsight is 20/20” definitely has value for us. The fact is we often have the tendency to make plans and boast about what we are going to do in the future with our personal ambitions and goals only to find out the wiser thing to do is wait and see how things actually happen. This is why James warned about making future plans, especially without God at the center of those plans (James 4:13-15). Jesus even spoke about a man intending to build a tower and even laying the foundation, only to be mocked because he didn’t have enough money to finish it (Luke 14:28-30). So, being able to finish something with the help of God is a greater blessing than boasting about beginning again without Him.
If we are truly wise, we know it is best to put all of our future plans into the hands of God. It is by His providence that we even have a new day or a new year (James 4:14). So, as we come to the end of this year, we can ask ourselves, “Why is the end better than the beginning?” Has this year brought you closer to God (James 4:6-8)? Has this year brought you prosperity (Acts 14:17)? Maybe you have developed more patience from trials you have faced (James 1:2,3) or you have learned how to forgive as God forgives (Eph. 4:32). Could it be that you have made some huge mistakes that you will never make again because you felt the hurt it brought to yourself, to others, and ultimately to God (1 Cor. 10:11; Mat. 26:75; Psa. 38:18)? Is there something you accomplished that you never had before (1 Cor. 15:10)? Has God blessed you (Eph. 1:3)?
We have another year behind us to look back and see how it has taught us great lessons of life to move forward in faithfulness. We don’t know what the new year will bring, but it can be said to us like it was to king Ahab, “Let not the one who puts on his armor boast like the one who takes it off” (1 Kings 20:11). Life can bring its pleasures and its sorrows, but all of God’s children can rejoice in Him (Phi. 4:4) and trust in Him to the end (Heb. 3:14). That’s when it will truly be better (Rev. 21:1-5)!
~Derrick Coble
If we are truly wise, we know it is best to put all of our future plans into the hands of God. It is by His providence that we even have a new day or a new year (James 4:14). So, as we come to the end of this year, we can ask ourselves, “Why is the end better than the beginning?” Has this year brought you closer to God (James 4:6-8)? Has this year brought you prosperity (Acts 14:17)? Maybe you have developed more patience from trials you have faced (James 1:2,3) or you have learned how to forgive as God forgives (Eph. 4:32). Could it be that you have made some huge mistakes that you will never make again because you felt the hurt it brought to yourself, to others, and ultimately to God (1 Cor. 10:11; Mat. 26:75; Psa. 38:18)? Is there something you accomplished that you never had before (1 Cor. 15:10)? Has God blessed you (Eph. 1:3)?
We have another year behind us to look back and see how it has taught us great lessons of life to move forward in faithfulness. We don’t know what the new year will bring, but it can be said to us like it was to king Ahab, “Let not the one who puts on his armor boast like the one who takes it off” (1 Kings 20:11). Life can bring its pleasures and its sorrows, but all of God’s children can rejoice in Him (Phi. 4:4) and trust in Him to the end (Heb. 3:14). That’s when it will truly be better (Rev. 21:1-5)!
~Derrick Coble
