All Is Well

There’s an old saying that tells us, “All’s well that end well.” Although I’m not sure this is absolutely true, the Bible clearly does provide many supporting anecdotes.

There would have been nothing “good” about Good Friday if it weren’t for Resurrection Sunday. The seemingly tragic and unjust story of the cross ended in complete triumph. Resurrection changes everything.

The final word in the Old Testament (Malachi 4:6) is CURSE (Hebrew cherem), quite a sobering reminder if we’re ever tempted to live under the Law again. But fortunately the story of redemption isn’t over yet. The New Testament ends on a completely different note: The GRACE of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen”  (Revelation 22:21). Praise God for His grace. It changes everything.

If you would have met Job midway through his story, you would have declared him a quite pathetic fellow. But his story certainly ended well: “The Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before”  and The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part”  (Job 42-10-12). Don’t you love happy endings like this? Happy endings can change just about anything.

That’s why I love the story in John 2 where they ran out of wine at a wedding feast. We’ve all run out of something at one time or another, and it’s not a pleasant experience.  Yet the story ended well, for Jesus turned water into wine.

It’s exhilarating to read that Jesus didn’t turn the water into some kind of ordinary or CHEAP wine. No, the master of the banquet said the BEST had been saved for LAST (v. 10). I’m claiming the “best for last” principle for my life, and I hope you are too.

However, perhaps you feel like you’re still living in Good Friday or in the middle of a story akin to Job’s. Maybe you’re not yet ready to declare, “All is well.”

But the good news is this: Your story isn’t over until it’s over. A day of resurrection is coming. Until then, God is still at work to bring ALL things together for your happy ending and a glorious fulfillment of His purposes (Romans 8:28).

So take a deep breath and trust Him to finish the work He has begun (Philippians 1:6). He will.