Knowing the end of the story

        "What joy is there in being with Christ...How happy are they that enjoy the fountain, if some small streams are so pleasant." (Puritan preacher, George Swinnock, 1627-1673)
        The past few days have given us the gift of such "small streams [that] are so pleasant."  The weather has been, in a word, spectacular.  Sunny, warm--but not hot--bright and glorious.  Everywhere the trees are starting to bud, and the earth is awakening from it's winter's slumber.  The scents of approaching spring perfume the air.  The birds are happily energized by all the earth's approaching activity, and it seems as if I'm constantly spotting the brilliant red flash of the cardinals...which always brings a smile to my heart.
        Oh my, thank You, Lord, for this wondrous planet!  Thank You for the gift of all these "small streams" pointing to Your infinitely greater and eternal fountain of delights.  Even with all the terrible turmoil and vitriol in our culture, God's fingerprints are everywhere on His remarkable creation. Yes, there's plenty in this world to worry over...but then we glimpse and enjoy those "small streams."
        Not just the beauty of creation, but the wondrous joy of spending time with loved ones, laughing with friends, savoring a delicious meal, crying over a great book, belting out a well-loved chorus with the radio.  All wordless reminders of the Lord's eternal faithfulness and extravagant goodness to us.    All pointing us in the direction of true and eternal love, beauty, glory.
        No matter what's going on in our lives or in the world, the best truly is yet to come.  We're not home yet.  We have endless glory and heaven ahead, but in the meantime, our Lord's called us to be faithful right where He's placed us..."for such a time as this."
        This all reminded me of something I shared the other day in Bible study, and since we're in the midst of "March Madness," I hope you don't mind if I share it.
        Because here's the bottom line: we know the end of the story.  And that makes all the difference.
        A couple of disclaimers: first, my family loves the Tar Heels.  So if you're not a Carolina fan, you can either stop reading right now or you can just imaginatively insert your team's name in for the tar heels.  I promise to refrain from any editorial or snarky comments about Dook, since this does not involve the Blue Devils (with a mascot like that?? Geez...there I go again.  Forgive me.).  Second disclaimer: as of the moment I'm writing this, the Heels are still in the NCAA tournament.  However, they play late tonight so by the time you read this, they may have lost...and there will be much weeping and gnashing of teeth at our house.  So I'm laying in a huuuuuge (to quote "the Bern") supply of chocolate.  It pays to be prepared.
        Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's time travel back to last weekend--and oh what a happy one it was--after the Tar Heels had won the ACC tournament...
        The other day I had the great pleasure of watching a recording of the UNC basketball game in the finals of the ACC tournament.  Now here’s the thing—I normally don’t enjoy these games at all, because I’m such a nervous wreck.  Seriously, my family often makes me go into the other room where I can practice deep breathing techniques or switch channels to the Cooking Network to relieve the stress and agony. The game itself was fairly late at night, so I wisely determined to record the second half, go to bed, and then decide in the morning if I wanted to watch it and celebrate...or erase it and eat a few squares of chocolate.
        But here's my point: all my usual nervousness, stress, and misery were completely alleviated when I watched the game. For you see, I already KNEW they’d won the game!
        Even when things got really stressful in the game, I could keep calm and carry on…because I knew the end result.  Even though the other team was leading most of the time, I could tell myself: “I don’t care how it looks right now.  I don’t care how it feels right now.  I know the end of the story, so I’m just going to hang in there and enjoy the game…because I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that everything’s going to alright in the end!”
Folks, we know the end of the story.
         Right now it's Lent.  Holy Week begins tomorrow when we'll be remembering Jesus' final week on earth before His crucifixion.  But we know the end of the story--the resurrection!  Jesus Christ is alive.  He conquered sin and death, so He defeated the most horrific, impossible problem we’ll ever face.  We are forgiven.  We are redeemed.  We are cherished, we are loved, we are empowered, we are filled with the dynamite of the Holy Spirit living inside us, and we are bound for the eternal and infinite wonders and joys of heaven.
Yes, we know the end of the story.  So no matter how bumpy the ride gets, no matter how hard or challenging things might look, no matter how discouraged or fearful we might feel, God’s already won the war.  And because He’s won, we’ve won, too.  Our enemy is a defeated, conquered foe, and Jesus Christ is alive.
         And no illness, no financial collapse, no political candidate, no prodigal child, no terrorist, no NOTHING will ever put Him back in the grave!
         Because that's true, we can live today with hope, joy, and peace, no matter our circumstances, no matter our setbacks, no matter our sorrows.  Knowing the Savior and the end of the story quite literally makes all the difference.  He is risen; He is risen indeed.  And one day He's coming back.  
        So until that glorious day, let's "Keep calm and carry on" with faith, obedience, and joy.  Oh my, isn't it wonderful knowing the end of the story?!
        To God be the glory.