Expected End

Last year, I wrote a two-part series on Hope. It was an attempt to bring to the fore some of the tangible things that as believers we are called to hope for as it were.

However, today we would be looking at Hope again, but from the vantage point of a very common scripture. It’s one of those verses that a believer is likely to quote without knowing where it is written. Such is the commonplace of its use.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Jeremiah 29:11

Well, let’s cast our net into the deep and see the nature of our catch. I’m at this time interested in the last statement: to give you an expected end.

This particular portion when closely examined has two parts. The Expected end consists of two portions, like sides of a coin.

It consists of a future and hope. This is very important. The expected end is a real, possible, guaranteed reality, that is not yet in view or if in view, has yet to become our reality. But it is sure nonetheless.

As great as that is, if all that we have is a future, I am afraid that not many of us will ever come into the reality of it, even though it was orchestrated by God. I do not by any means mean to downplay the possibilities of the power of God. It’s impossible to even to so. What I mean is that, that future is sure and certain as far as God is concerned. It is unshakable and immovable. It is settled. However our coming into it has two handles. One held by God and the other by us. The one held by God is a God shaped handle that provides stability and steadiness. The name of other handle is called a hope.

God’s means of ensuring you stay in the program, and on the path that leads to the Future is to give you in the NOW, a hope. This hope is a token of commitment, a seed, a deposit, a handle that you can hold on to. It’s, permit me to say, a tangible intangible. This hope is the substance of the future. It inspires confidence. It guarantees compliance. It ensures commitment. It provides staying power.

This hope never disappoints. As you look forward and into the future, do well to guard the hope that the possibility of that future administers to your heart because as long as that hope is thriving in your heart, it sets your coordinates to ensure that you arrive at that expected end in partnership with the Lord God Almighty.