Day 1: Endings Are Beginnings.

If you’ve ever experienced the sudden death of a friend or family member, you know the terrible power of death when it strikes. The same is true for the sudden loss of anything we value. It’s a sucker punch that drops us in our tracks. We feel powerless, hopeless, and defeated.

But what if loss and grief aren’t as final as they feel?

The more I read the Bible and the longer I follow Jesus, the more I’ve seen this simple truth at work: what we think are endings are usually just beginnings. What we think is loss often turns out to be gain. What should be weakness somehow becomes strength. What was meant for evil results in good. Why? Because that’s how powerful and good God is. He has a way of turning the worst thing that could happen into the best thing that could happen.

Changing our perspective to see the big picture isn’t easy or pain-free.

Imagine what must go through a baby’s head when they are being born. I was present for the birth of my son. He didn’t enjoy the process one bit! He most likely would have chosen to stay in the womb. He couldn’t have imagined the freedom of the outside world.

In the same way, we often hold on to the people, places, or dreams that we’re starting to lose out of fear of the unknown. “Little deaths” terrify us because we can’t visualize what’s ahead. Like a newborn baby, we don’t even have the language for it.

But in God’s story, the close of one chapter is usually just the beginning of a greater opportunity. Jesus described his own life as a seed that needed to die and be buried before it could bring life to many (John 12:23-25). The principle applies to other forms of dying in our lives.

Death is not the end. It’s an ending, yes, but it’s not the end. It’s also a beginning, a necessary step before what is new can come into existence.

So, instead of panicking out of fear of the unknown, take a deep breath. Choose to trust God. Walk through the doorway. If a shattered dream, lost job, broken relationship, or something else has left you reeling, it’s up to you to process that death in the right way — and then move forward into newness.

God wants to turn your ending into a beginning.