"After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before." Job 42:10
That's the happy ending we all want right? We read books about it, watch movies and TV shows about happy endings here on earth. This happy ending is in the Bible. As I was reading this morning I realized that I have always looked over this piece: it took time!
We all know the struggle took time, our struggles today take time. What I haven't paid attention to is that the blessing takes time. In this story a man named Job looses ALL of his wealth, chidden, flocks, money and even his health. The bulk of the story is the process of mourning and staying faithful to God and believing He has a plan even when we can't see what it is. At the very end is an epilogue of God blessing Job with TWICE as much as he had before. In verse 10 of chapter 42 (above) we see that the Lord made him prosperous again. This man's prosperity was children (they take time), flocks and herds (they take time) and even money takes time to accumulate! You can hit the lottery and win all the money in the world but you still have to wait for it to get to you!!
I think as Christians we can get through the struggle just to give up before the blessing.
What I mean is that we are fully aware when hard times are against us. Everything hits all at once! Then the storm subsides and our lives still don't look blessed and glorious like we think it should. I mean God just got us through a major storm so shouldn't we be looking on the up & up and all glommed out for Jesus?!
Think about when a physical storm hits the land. There's things that get messed up. Even when the storm is over and gone there's still rubble and debris left everywhere. The sun is out and shining and all it's shining on is the mess! People have to start the clean up process, put things back in order.
It's the same way spiritually. When we face a battle damage is done. The battle may be won but there are still things that have to be cleaned up before everything looks neat and tidy again.
Today, if you're in the middle of the battle or the battle is already over, hold tight and stand firm that God is still with you and making everything perfect!! Don't give up before your blessing! It takes time!
~Awaken Us~
Brenna Stanford
