~Job 42:12a
Happy endings. We all love 'em, right? And guess who got a happy ending to their story? That's right, Job.
In the first part of Job 42, Job repents. He admits to God that he has been foolish. And finally, Job repents in dust and ashes.
After Job repents, God finally takes away the suffering. And imagine what God does next. He blesses Job with TWICE as much as he had before. Do you remember how many animals Job had in the beginning? He had over 11,000 animals. God gave Job over 22,000 animals in the end! Job was blessed with 7 more sons, 3 more daughters, and even more numerous amounts of wealth than he had in the beginning. What a happy ending.
This final chapter of Job gave me so much joy. God has been working in my life and making some major rearrangements and renovations. Somethings have even been taken away from me. It has given me great hope that after Job had gone through many tribulations, God blessed him with twice as much as he had before. When I read those verses it felt like God was whispering in my ear 'If you continue to follow me, I'll bless you like that, too!'
Job was faithful to God. Sure, he spoke foolishly and harshly a couple times, but don't we all? If you think back to the deal God made with the Satan, Satan was trying to get Job to curse God. Job cursed himself, but never did he curse or blame God. So Job was faithful. And in the end, God blessed him for it.
Tonight I attended my church's Maundy Thursday service. Pastor Brown kept encouraging us to follow Jesus. He spoke about how following Jesus may cost you security, it may cost you what you think are your dreams, it may cost you friends, and it may even cost you your life. Yet in the end it will be worth it, and God will reward!
The past 42 days have changed me. I'll save the rest for tomorrow's 'reflection post', but I will say that I have made the strong commitment to eagerly pursue Jesus. I will follow His way no matter what I might lose. Because in the end I know there will be a happy ending.
Photo #42: Ahhhh, I love happy endings =]
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