Corona Devo 382

Who doesn't like a happy ending? We all do.

And the truth is, as long as I can remember, I envision and joyfully hope (and sometimes pray) for the "happy ending" to my scenarios. Things will "work out". And much of the time they do...except for when they don't.

You study hard, and you receive good grades. You are kind to others and others are kind to you. Happy endings are sometimes logical (as with studying), and sometimes cyclical, as with "do unto others as you would like them to do unto you" (Matthew 7:12). But not always.

I can recall my first big swallow of an illogical and unhappy ending. I was a young professional, and happily busting my tail at a job I truly enjoyed. I worked hard. I put in long, extra and weekend hours. I improved their bottom line. And yet when it was time for my yearly review, although I received a positive verbal report, there was no financial compensation (raise). Yes, they were grateful for my hard work and efforts, but no, there was no budget available to compensate me for it.

Where was the happy ending? Usually, when you work hard, you get results. On the field, in the gradebook, in friendships and relationships. You give and there is usually a (financial, emotional, and even spiritual) compensation of some sort. Except when there isn't.

I felt that the "logical" result to my hard work would have been a raise for the coming year. But what I didn't mention was that my first job out of college was for a small, private, Catholic, women's college. I could not add one more adjective that could more clearly indicate that they didn't have a big budget. So even though they had a great team working for the college, they couldn't give a worldy reward (that year) for our efforts, as most other "jobs" would.

We all like a happy ending, but sometimes we get a closed door.

Or a closed road, as in Moses' case:

While Moses was at Kadesh, he sent ambassadors to the king of Edom with this message: “This is what your relatives, the people of Israel, say: You know all the hardships we have been through. (15) Our ancestors went down to Egypt, and we lived there a long time, and we and our ancestors were brutally mistreated by the Egyptians. (16) But when we cried out to the Lord, he heard us and sent an angel who brought us out of Egypt. Now we are camped at Kadesh, a town on the border of your land. (17) Please let us travel through your land. We will be careful not to go through your fields and vineyards. We won’t even drink water from your wells. We will stay on the king’s road and never leave it until we have passed through your territory.”

(18) But the king of Edom said, “Stay out of my land, or I will meet you with an army!”

(19) The Israelites answered, “We will stay on the main road. If our livestock drink your water, we will pay for it. Just let us pass through your country. That’s all we ask.”

(20) But the king of Edom replied, “Stay out! You may not pass through our land.” With that he mobilized his army and marched out against them with an imposing force. (21) Because Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through their country, Israel was forced to turn around. Numbers 20:14-21

Where was the happy ending for Moses? I guess it was not going to be on the king's road through Edom. That road was closed to him.

Even though it seemed to make "logical" sense for Moses to acquire safe passageway, sometimes we hit areas in life that don't have a happy ending, even if it might have been logical to have one.

Moses was following God, Moses was discipling others daily, and did you catch how nicely Moses asked permission from the king of Edom? He was very polite, humble and mannerly. And yet...no happy ending.

Sometimes life is like that. It's not logical. It doesn't make us feel good. It seems unfair. And like it or not, we will have unhappy endings to some of our life adventures.

But you already know that, don't you? As do I.

And I felt God gently reminding me of this fact/truth/earthly rule. Sometimes we don't get the raise. Sometimes whatever happy ending we are expecting/hoping for/even praying for, does not come.

The king of Edom was not budging on his stance of not letting Moses and the Isrealites through his land. And God didn't wave a magic wand or zap the king out of the scene. Because Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through their country, Israel was forced to turn around. (Numbers 20:21).

Sometimes we have to turn around too. We thought we were headed in the right direction. Or we thought we would get clearance in moving forward toward this job/person/baby/dream. But we had to turn around.

Or...as was my case at the small college, and perhaps as is your case for whatever situation you were hoping-for-a-happy-ending-to today--we have to keep moving forward, even without the "happy ending" that we had envisioned. I stayed and continued working for the college, but more importantly for the Lord. I knew that was where God had me at that time, whether or not the financial "attaboy" came through.

Today's scripture might be the reminder we need to change course, or to alter our "happy ending" perception. Sometimes things don't work out how we expect them to.

Moses' happy ending was not on the king's road through Edom, and ours might not be in what we were hoping-it-would-be today.

But even if today's "happy ending" doesn't turn out, our final one will. To those that have asked Jesus into their hearts and lives, the world's "unhappy endings" won't hold a candle to our final "happy ending".

There were two sinners being crucified with Jesus at Golgatha, and to the one that recognized Jesus' power and authority, Jesus said, "Today you will be with me in paradise." (Luke 23:43).

Paradise: Jesus' own words for eternity with Him in Heaven.

That is our true happy ending.

Blessings,

sarah

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com/