The Final Chapter

For many writers, the opening is the most difficult part of the process. The same is true for artists, composers, and anyone involved in the creative process. Staring at blank pages or an empty canvas can be an intimidating experience.

Describing the process of writing The Lord of the Rings trilogy, J.R.R. Tolkien began with an initial idea. He began writing, but stopped. As a biographer describes, Tolkien simply had “no clear idea” what the book was about. Only gradually did ideas start to flow that became the complete story.

At the same time, many creative minds have even greater difficulty finishing a project. When British composer William Walton began writing his first symphony, ideas flowed quickly and naturally. Then, after completing the first movements, life complications intervened and he found himself unable to finish the work. He just didn’t know what to do. He finally finished, but only years later.

The Bible is filled with beginnings and endings. The stories of people and nations. Campaigns and projects. The most important beginning took place as “God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).

The Bible also provides the perfect ending, in fact, telling us that God already has declared the end from the very beginning (Isaiah 41:26). He knows how every story will end. He is “the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (v. 13).

As we approach the end of a year, it is natural for us to have questions. To look back. To speculate and reflect. Looking forward, we wonder what the new year can bring. These are times to remember that God knows the future, and already knows how every story will end.

Today, commit your future to Him. Ask Him to give you His peace and take away your burdens. To direct your steps.