Knowing the End from the Beginning

UV 2059/10000 Knowing the End from the Beginnning
Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
Isaiah 46 v 10

The seed does not know if it will grow and become a tree. The tree does not know whether it will bear fruit and if it bears fruit whether it will be good fruit. God is the only one who knows the end from the beginning. He not only knows it abut declares what is yet to happen. What He declares is bound to happen and no one can prevent or pre-empt it. He will do whatever is His perfect will. He revealed through the prophets and the apostles and through His Son Jesus, the contours of history. A hundred years before Cyrus the Great became the Emperor of Persia, his name was made known and it was declared that the temple of Jerusalem would be re-built with his help. Even the manner I which he would invade and conquer Babylon through the river sluice gates was declared ahead of time.

Stephen Covey, the management guru wrote that we should see the end from the beginning before starting any project or work. But it is only a gift from the Lord that will enable us to see the end from the beginning. The Lord will give us insight and understanding to see the details of the conclusion of the hope that we have. For this to happen we need to submit each day and each day’s activities into the Lord’s hands. The Lord will then do His pleasure or what pleases Him in our lives. It is the presence of the Lord that gives us the prescience to know the future, to know how a matter will conclude, how work will progress and succeed.

Even Jesus knew His end from the beginning. He knew that His life did not end on the cross but that His glorious reign over all of creation would begin then. This is the reason He declared in one of the last seven utterances before committing His soul to the Father, “ It is finished.” In order to finish well in our lives, we need to daily benefit from the counsel of the Holy Spirit in all that we think, speak and do. Knowing that our ultimate destination is to be with the Lord forever enables us to focus on the kingdom and His righteousness. We will not be side tracked or distracted and sent off on a detour from our journey back to the Lord. The Lord will stand beside us and give us good counsel. He will induce His wisdom and insight in us. When we involve the Lord as the managing partner in our lives and in our work and projects, He gives us the benefit or advantage of His foreknowledge. He will counsel us to be patient when we hit a rough or lean patch in our lives, give us the strength to endure and to persist beyond the point of natural resistance until we finish our tasks, fulfil our purpose, accomplish our goals.

Prateep V Philip