WISDOM FOR LIVING DEVOTIONAL
DECEMBER 31, 2020
TOPIC: ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL
BY T. O. BANSO
“The end of a thing is better than its beginning” (Ecclesiastes 7:8a New King James Version).
The year 2020 has been a torturous year for the world. The first wave of coronavirus pandemic, with its attendant challenges, and the second wave that has started in some countries of the world, made the year taxing.
Despite the recent availability of COVID-19 vaccine, the prognosis for the next few months for the world is not looking good. Unless God intervenes, the spreading of new variants of COVID-19 virus in some countries constitutes another strenuous challenge to survival.
Nevertheless, the year 2020 ends today and you should be grateful to God that you survived the year. Indeed, you can say all’s well that ends well. God, who has brought you to the last day of this year, will see you through the remaining hours. You will cross over safely to 2021 in Jesus’ name.
It is not that all the challenges of the year 2020 are completely gone, and we are starting the New Year on a clean slate. No. But we can savour the joy of a New Year starting a few hours from now. Being alive to see the end of 2020 and the opportunity to start 2021 counts you among the living, those who can experience the great possibilities the year offers and the new heights that can be attained.
Ecclesiastes 7:8 says, “The end of a thing is better than its beginning” (Ecclesiastes 7:8a New King James Version). The New Living Translation puts it this way: “Finishing is better than starting.” Notwithstanding the challenges, adversities, or failures of the outgoing year, you should be grateful to God that you made it this far and you’re at the edge of crossing over to a new year.
You probably know some persons close to you who were alive this time last year. You possibly have some people that you started the year 2020 together but, at different times during the year, they had to bid the world bye-bye. Maybe you also nearly exited this earth due to some afflictions during the year but somehow God turned things around for you. “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all” (Psalm 34:19 New King James Version). All’s well that ends well.
Give thanks to the Lord as you savour the joy of this new season. 1 Corinthians 15:57 says, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (New King James Version). Don’t think that it was by your own strength and energy that you are at the verge of the New Year. As said in Ephesians 5:20, always give thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
With the New Year just some hours away, commit your ways to the LORD. You may have your plans and expectations about the New Year, which is good, but you know little or nothing about the year. You have seen many years in the past but, as Joshua 3:4b says, you have not passed this way before. You have not seen 2021 before. Therefore, “Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday” (Psalm 37:5-6 New King James Version).
Only a few people anticipated that the challenges of 2020 would be as huge as they were. All the goals and plans that individuals and organizations made, hardly factored in the COVID-19 pandemic. Someone said the pandemic even cost a president his re-election! Most of the goals and plans were obstructed when the plague assumed a massive dimension. That tells us that as humans, we have limitations. There are things the natural man cannot predict. We don’t know everything. Proverbs 19:21 says, “You can make many plans, but the LORD’s purpose will prevail” (New Living Translation).
Don’t be wise in your own eyes (Proverbs 3:7). Prayerfully make your plans. Ask the LORD for guidance. Let the LORD lead you. David says in Psalm 143:10, “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing” (New Living Translation). Also, David says in Psalm 31:3, “For You are my rock and my fortress; therefore, for Your name’s sake, lead me and guide me” (New King James Version).
Beyond what you know in your profession, business, or calling, by virtue of your training, continually depend on God to teach you. Be open to the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Part of His ministry is to teach you all things. John 14:26 says the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things. The Holy Spirit has since come. The Holy Spirit is your advantage. God will lead and teach you through Him. David prays, “Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day” (Psalm 25:5 New King James Version).
No matter the challenges you faced this year, all’s well that ends well. Naomi lost her husband and her two children. She returned to Bethlehem from Moab with the widow of one of her sons, Ruth, without any hope for the future. However, after everything, all ended well for her. Without having a husband and being pregnant, Naomi had a child again!
Ruth 4:13-17 says, “So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi , ‘Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel! And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him.’ Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom, and became a nurse to him. Also the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, ‘There is a son born to Naomi.’ And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David” (New King James Version).
All’s well that ends well. That must have been the song of Job who had lost his health, children, business, wealth, and so on. However, the God of restoration visited Him. “Now the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters” (Job 42:12-13 New King James Version).
The Shunammite woman whose only son had died answered that all was well when she was actually experiencing the opposite. However, after all, she could say all’s well that ends well. Elisha raised her son back to life. He called her in and told her to pick up her son. She went in, fell at his feet, bowed to the ground, picked up her son and went out (2 Kings 4:35-37). All’s well that ends well.
Thank God for 2020. All’s well that ends well. You will cross over safely to 2021. There shall be no Eleventh-hour tragedy or loss. The glory of 2021 shall be greater than that of 2020. Happy New Year!
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto you today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and resurrected the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank you, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The LORD be with you.
PRAYER POINTS: Father, thank You for all’s well that ends well. I shall cross over safely to the year 2021. I shall not suffer any Eleventh-hour tragedy or loss. My loved ones and I shall end the year 2020 well. The year shall not see our end. For me and my family, the glory of 2021 shall be greater than that of 2020.
(For over 400 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit: www.cedarministry.org).
T. O. Banso is the President, Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org
