“In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil” (Job1:1, NIV).

The Bible is not a fairy tale that ends with “and they all lived happily ever after.”  It doesn’t gloss over the tragedies in life. The Bible tells it like it is: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Among the many stories found in scripture few depict all these elements more clearly than the life of Job. 

Although he was blameless and served God, he had more than his share of trouble. He learned from bitter experience that following God is no guarantee of an easy life. In fact, usually the opposite is true.

But God promises that our end will be better than our beginning if we build our lives on the foundation which He has laid: Jesus Christ the Righteous Redeemer. In the midst of his despair, Job confidently states, “I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God” (Job 19:25-27, NIV).

This is the end God has in mind for us. Life eternal in the earth made new!