I love reading. It’s one of my favorite pastimes. My obsession with reading started when I was in about 4th grade. In Ms. Mullen’s class, we had a library from which students could check out books. After reading Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume I was hooked. Reading became my escape and books became one of my best friends. I turned my back on any problems in my little 9-year-old world by immersing myself in the world the author created. I never concerned myself with the end of the story until I got to the last page. I savored every word, never skipping to the end. I simply let the characters and events develop and unfold before me at the author’s pace.
I still love to read, but I’ve noticed that as I’ve gotten older I am much more eager to get to the end of the story. I never skip completely to the end, but I find myself skipping over paragraphs or sentences that I find unimportant to the overall end game. I no longer savor every word. I’m much more interested in what’s going to happen on that last page. Does the main character get her ‘happily ever after’?
One morning on the way to work I was thinking about how preachers always say that we already have the victory and that the battle has already been won. We’ve already been healed! We’ve already won the fight, they proclaim. I’m going, to be honest, in the past, this made no sense to me. If it hasn’t happened yet how could it already have happened?? But the more I thought about it, this particular morning, the more I saw that it’s much like reading a book. Even if I’ve only read 37 pages of a 200 Page book- the 200th page has already been written. Whether I’ve read the last page or not, the author has already determined the end of the story and decided the ultimate end for his/her character. Before the book ever landed in my hands the words had already been printed on the page.
It is much the same with God in our lives. He already knows the plans He has for us, plans to prosper us and to give us hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). Just because we haven’t gotten to that ‘last page’ of today’s issue, our current circumstances or even our lives, it doesn’t mean that the end hasn’t been lovingly written by the Author and the Finisher of our faith. This encourages me so much because it means that I don’t have to worry. As long as I stay in God’s will and don’t try to write the story for myself, I can trust and rest knowing that the great Author has written an amazing story for me.
A character can’t jump off a page and decide it’s going to do its own thing and expect to enjoy the happy ending. In other words, as long as I am obedient, I can rest in knowing that every triumph, disappointment, twist, and turn is working for my good. Staying in God’s will allows me to savor every moment trusting that on the last page the main character (that would be me) does, in fact, get her ‘happily ever after.’
We are assured and know that God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose. Romans 8:28 AMPC
I hope this encourages you to keep moving forward and continue to work out your salvation (Philippians 2:12) by the grace of God. He indeed has your happily ever after already written.
About the Author:
Ayesha Keller is a lover of Jesus, wife, and mother of two rambunctious boys. She is also an assistant social work professor, blogger, and vlogger. You can read her blog here and visit her YouTube channel here.
June 15, 2019