CLOSE THE CHAPTER

“To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven”

Ecclesiastes 3:1.

There are seasons and stages of life. Shakespeare likened the world to a stage and we all as mere players. Actually, every life is a story broken into different acts, scenes, and settings. In a novel or play there is normally the central character around which the story revolves. This character is usually referred to as the hero (male) or heroine (female). Perhaps you did not realize it before now, but you are the hero/heroine in the story of your life.

Stories are usually set in chapters, paragraphs, sentences, and words. They separate parts of the story from themselves. They also link the different parts of the story, tying them together to create a flow. The chapters mark the different times and seasons in the life of the hero/heroine. The paragraphs show the flow of the story within a chapter. The sentences serve their purpose in the gradual unfolding of the story one word after another.

Seasons and Phases of Life

Our lives are in seasons and phases. Some seasons and phases release joy and pleasure while others do the contrary. Some seasons lead up and some seasons could spiral downwards towards defeat, failure and shame. Many of us have issues we wish we never had. We are confronted with matters which weigh us down and threaten to finish us. Many wish that their existence is different while some go to bed and don't wish to ever wake up again. The seasons of their lives are serving them more than they think they can bear. Imagine being saddled with a burden you have come to believe can never be removed! This is a depressing thought.

But seasons do change. Times also change. I believe strongly that irrespective of how your past has been and what is happening right now to you, the best days and years of your life are not behind you. They are ahead of you. Stories do change, and circumstances and conditions can turn around. I am committed to your transformation in life and destiny this is why I have written this book. In the years I have spent in ministry, my biggest pain has been to see people whose lives can turn to embrace new seasons remain stuck in the rot of the dilemma they could have done without. Don't repeat this pattern. Become the hero God made you to be. Actively engage to change the seasons in the pages of your life.

The Translation

To translate from one season to another, one chapter must close before another can begin. The Bible is replete with instances in the lives of various people who moved from one season to another simply because a chapter of their lives closed. The closing of those chapters each created avenues for new opportunities and doors to open up.

The Story of Isaiah

In the year that King Uzziah of Judah died, a new chapter opened up in the life of the prophet Isaiah. Though Isaiah had been prophesying in the first five chapters of the book of the Bible that bears his name, he could not reach his optimum. He was sort of limited because the king who ruled over his nation that he could see had a great defect. That King (Uzziah) had become leprous as a result of pride which caused him to disobey God. Thus the King who was supposed to be the embodiment of the glory of the nation fell far short. This affected the prophet because under Uzziah's rule Isaiah was deceived to think he was okay while he was not.

When Uzziah died, Isaiah was positioned to see God's glory and he could say, “For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” In the light of God's glory he saw his own inadequacy and wept in repentance. This change transformed Isaiah into a prophet of a different order and dimension. He became the one who prophesied about the Messiah's redemptive ministry in the clearest possible way, giving specific details. All this happened after the chapter on Uzziah was closed. See Isaiah 6:1-8.

Samuel and Saul

When Saul the first King of Israel persisted in his disobedient and unrepentant ways, Samuel the prophet who had anointed him king was heartbroken. He grieved ceaselessly over him. God promptly told the prophet to dry his tears and go anoint David who would rule the nation. God in essence closed the chapter on Saul.

“And the Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel ? Fill your horn with oil and go, I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.' ” 1 Samuel 16:1.

Perhaps there are issues and people who are “Sauls” in our lives representing chapters we left open which we should have closed so as to move on with God's plan for our destiny. Close the chapter because there is something better ahead.

The Grain of Wheat

Jesus Christ said even a grain of wheat must first close the chapter on its old life in death before it can grow to bear much fruit else it remains unproductive. See John 12:24. The dilemma is that we humans like to hold on tight to the familiar instead of letting go in order to explore the possibilities ahead. If we must make progress, some old chapters in our lives need to be closed, some curtains drawn on the current scenes and we must venture into the future in faith. Remember that with faith in God, there is nothing life throws at you that you cannot conquer.

Our duty now is to look at our lives critically to see if there are chapters we need to close so that we can press on in faith to posses the future. Remember again that you are scripting the pages of your life. Don't be passive about it.