There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens … a time to keep and a time to throw away. Ecclesiastes 3:1, 6b NIV

 

There’s an enduring proverb that says, “All good things must come to an end.”

 

Yes, even good things have endings. And when it comes to bad things, endings can’t come soon enough. Endings can be hard. Whether we’re talking about a work situation, an unhealthy relationship or a habit that doesn’t serve you, the Bible tells us that “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens … a time to keep and a time to throw away” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 6b NIV). God’s care for us is always redemptive. His love for us is a love that always wants us to grow—to be more like Him and experience the peace, the security and the joy of what Jesus called, “Life to the full” (John 10:10 NIV).

The growing that we need to do often calls for what well-known clinical psychologist, Henry Cloud, calls “Necessary Endings.”[1] In order to foster growth and positive change, we have to let go of unhelpful or damaging relationships, behaviors, and ways of thinking. Sometimes, God does the pruning that’s needed in removing things from our lives. Scripture says, “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful” (John 15:2 NIV). Other times, God brings truth to our lives and offers His strength and guidance in taking needed action.

Dr. Cloud reminds us, “Without the ability to end things, people stay stuck, never becoming who they are meant to be, never accomplishing all that their talents and abilities should afford them.”[2] And we can add to that: never living the full life God created them to live.

Is God speaking to you today about a necessary ending in your life?

 

[1] Cloud, Henry. “The Necessity of Endings.” Necessary Endings, Harper Business, New York, NY, 2011, p. 8.

[2] Ibid.