Unhappy Endings

Sometimes we don't get our way.

I know, shocking.

Sometimes life falls through. The job ends. The kids mess up. The friend fails. The loan is denied. The medical test comes back positive. The spouse leaves. Sometimes it doesn't matter that we didn't "DO" anything...Sometimes we don't have any control. 

And if you thought temper tantrums ended when you turned three....well you know better than that if you've ever had a three year old!!! We still pout, we still cry, we still sulk, we still rant, we still kick and scream til someone gives us a little attention. It's what we do. We're disappointed, self-consumed, upset, disheartened, devastated, angry. 

We've all been there.

So, how are we supposed to handle unhappy endings..the ones where everyone doesn't fall in love and get married and drive off in the sunset smiling? I've wondered this many times and the only place I ever get comfort is from the Word of God. 

Look at these guys and gals from the Bible....Moses, Job, Joseph, David, Ruth and many more. Each of them had a set of unpleasant circumstances....things they wouldn't have chosen for themselves if given the opportunity to foresee the future. Yet....they did two things. They grieved and they trusted. They acknowledged their pain to the Lord. They grieved their losses, disappointments and frustrations. They cried to the Lord...

David...Psalm 130, 142, 120, 141

Moses... Exodus 14, 15, 17, Numbers 12

Job... Job 7, 30

Joseph.. Genesis 45

Ruth...Ruth 1,2,3

In the midst of their hurting and frustration God sent them and many others a message...Fear Not!

Abraham: Genesis 15v1
Isaac: Genesis 26v24
Jacob: Genesis 43v3
Moses: Exodus 14v13
Joshua: Joshua 8v1; 10v8
Jehoshaphat: 2 Chronicles 20v17
The Remnant: Isaiah 41v10, 13, 14; 43v1, 5; 44v2
Ezekiel: Ezekiel 3v9
Daniel: Daniel 10v12
Joseph: Matthew 1v20
Zacharias: Luke 1v13
Mary: Luke 1v30
The shepherds: Luke 2v10
Paul: Acts 27v24
John: Revelations 1v17

Don't fear the future, the past. Don't fear people or circumstances or test results or _____________.

And the opposite of Fear...is Trust.

Trusting God with all the details of your life is much harder than it sounds. But when you put it into the perspective of trusting Him with the details of your eternity, trusting Him with the smaller things in life (however "big" they feel) should be easier.

Do you trust Him? Even with the unhappy endings? When you don't understand? When things don't make sense? It's hard. Yet, the peace we receive by reading His word, crying out to Him, trusting His plan is more satisfying and comforting than if we try to figure things out ourselves. It's not up to us to always "know and understand". He just wants us to believe that He's taking care of things...even when they are unpleasant, even when the outcome isn't part of our happily ever after plan. Remember His love is greater, His reach is farther, His hand is bigger. His mind and plans are beyond our imaginations. He can handle your grief, your tears, your heartache, disappointments and even your anger. But He doesn't want you to stay there...move from grief, to trust..because You can trust Him.

You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.
Trust in the Lord forever,
for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.

—Isaiah 26:3-4