Happily-Ever-After

Think of your favorite fairytale or “happily-ever-after” story … maybe even one from real life. There’s just something about tales like those that touches us deep inside. I’ve come to understand that part of the reason we’re that way is because we were originally designed for the Garden of Eden … and that was supposed to be the best “happily-ever-after” story of all time! So just because it got messed up by our relative’s disobedience doesn’t mean we don’t still long for it.

When you read the Old Testament, you will find quite a number of stories with happy endings. Abraham and Sarah having a son when they were old enough to be having great-great-grandkids; Joseph going from slavery to being Prime Minister; Esther risking her life to save her people and ending up as the Queen! And, as with all well written stories, each of them endured trials, pain, and tribulation – and still rose triumphant.

But the one I want to talk about today is the story of Job. He suffered so many losses, so much pain … physically, financially, emotionally, spiritually. It certainly ran the gamut of multiple types of trials. But maybe the thing that makes it the hardest for us to understand is that out of all of them, he was probably the most innocent of all. Abraham and Sarah got impatient waiting for the fulfillment of God’s promise and jumped the gun, giving the world Ishmael before Isaac came along. Joseph got a little too big for his britches (also known as prideful) and annoyed his brothers enough that they sold him into slavery. Now that’s annoyance! And Esther almost didn’t take the risk for her people – she had to be guilted and scared into it by her uncle. But Job? From what I read in Scripture, apparently his only fault was being righteous enough to tick off Satan so much it drove him to ask God to let him test Job and see if he would curse God. You can read the conversation between them in Job 2:6-12.

So, out of the blue, this “blameless man of complete integrity” loses all ten of his children, all of his livestock, all of his crops, everything! The only thing left is his wife … and she turned out to be less than wonderful! At one point her advice to him is to “Curse God and die!” If you’re not familiar with the story, at this point you’re probably saying, “Hey, wait! I thought this was supposed to have a happy ending!” Hang on … it does.

Like all of us, when Job was hit with this series of disasters, it took time for him to grieve, question, try to understand, etc. Here’s what he said in Job 3:25-26. “What I always feared has happened to me. What I dreaded has come true. I have no peace, no quietness. I have no rest, only trouble comes.” Maybe you can relate to those thoughts and emotions … I know I can. And it takes the next 39 chapters – all the way to the beginning of Chapter 42 – for Job to get everything clear in his mind and be able to say to God, “I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. I take back everything I said …” For me, this is part of the happy ending – because in those intervening chapters, Job got real with God and asked all the questions, made all the statements and expressed all the confusion, doubt and pain in his body, mind and emotions. But the one thing Job didn’t do was speak incorrectly about the Lord. And, yes, God got stern with him at one point – but he didn’t send a bolt of lightning down to take him out. He helped Job understand his place in this world and how it differed from the place occupied by the Maker of heaven and earth. Then Job accepted where and who he was, and repented, and willingly prayed for his friends when they asked him to.

And here’s the happily-ever-after: “the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning.” You can find the details beginning in Job 42:12.

I don’t know where you are in your life; what trials you’ve experienced or might be experiencing as you read this. I don’t know what wounds you bear that haven’t yet healed and are still tender to the touch. I do know there are ongoing situations in my life that are painful, and episodes that have closed but have left still sensitive scars. I also know there have been times when the pain has been so intense, I really didn’t want God to bring anyone else into my life who I might come to love … I was pretty sure if it went wrong, I would not be able to survive. Those feelings can still rise up in me, even though in my more stable moments I know and understand they are baseless. But they are also what caused me to ask the questions about Job I posed at the beginning of this piece: did he ever fear receiving blessings that might be taken away?

Then there are some other things I know: God blessed Job doubly after his tragedies and there’s no mention of Job losing any of those blessings. Plus, God is no respecter of persons, which means if he did it for Job, he can do it for me and you. Maybe it won’t happen exactly as I picture it in my imagination, and maybe it won’t be in the timing that I desire. But I’m going to hang on to him tightly and remember that my trials and sorrows are miniscule in comparison with Job’s. And he had no idea there were any blessings at all coming his way when he had his epiphany about who God was … and still is. Job only knew by some miracle he was still alive, and God was very aware of who he was – that was enough for him. It should also be enough for me. The goal is for me to remember all of that … even in the darkest moments.