Ever noticed how when a child… or maybe even a teenager… has one little thing go wrong, it feels like nothing will ever go right again? Yet mature adults can look at the situation and say with confidence that everything is going to be okay in the long run. We burst off-key into song with, “The sun will come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow there will be sunshine.” But the child doesn’t see it that way.
We don’t change much between childhood and adulthood when it comes to this, do we? Oh, it takes a lot more than a skinned knee or our crush dumping us to make us feel like the world is caving in on us, but we have our moments…
Maybe it’s one health issue after another. Or maybe you don’t get treated fairly at work, and then you lose your job. Or perhaps your spouse leaves you, and then your kids get mad at you for the split. It could even be as simple as every major appliance in your home seeming to break down within the same month. Whatever the case, we all hit some rough patches in life when we don’t see a ray of sunlight ahead… only dark times.
Job, of ancient Scripture, knew these kinds of times better than any of us. He literally had the devil working against him. He lost his wealth and all his kids within days. Then he got painfully ill. His friends told him he must have sinned and made God mad… that he needed to repent for being such a spiritual loser. His wife told him he ought to cuss God out, give up and die.
The crazy thing is, God knew Job wouldn’t cave. He was actually showing Job off to the devil and everyone watching. And He intended to bless Job doubly for all the trouble he went through. But that ray of sunshine was hard for Job to see in the midst of the dark times.
Just like us. When you get another downer of a report from the doctor… or when finances aren’t rolling in like they had been… or when it seems like everyone is against you… it’s kind of tough to see yourself as a trophy example God is showing off to the watching world. It just all looks hopeless… and dark… and senseless.
This is why I am so glad for the 16th verse in Job chapter 42. It reads, “After this, Job lived 140 years.” After this. I love that! It’s like a parent telling their child the skinned knee will stop hurting and will heal up sooner than they think. It’s a reminder to me that… in those times when there seem to be no reasons, and no answers, and no improvement in the situation… there are better days ahead. I have an “after this” ahead of me. So do you!
I know it looks bad right now. I know things are piling up on top of you. I know there doesn’t seem to be an end to this rough patch. I know it seems like your friends and family have turned on you. I know you don’t think you can take any more.
But when God’s involved, you have an “after this” coming. It may not look like it right now, but you do. Job lived another 140 years after what he faced, and God blessed him even more than He had before. And God will be there for you through your time of difficulty. One day soon, you’ll come out of this rough patch, and your story will record that “after this, you lived and God blessed you!”
allenchapin.com 