“…Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29b

What Chapter Are You On?

In my office, we often share books with one another. “Oh, have you read such-and-such?” “No. May I borrow it?” Then ensues several weeks of asking, “What chapter are you on?” We want to know if they got to that really good part yet…. Sometimes someone will lose interest in a book and lay it down, never to pick it up again. Then we want to say, “But you never got to the good part! It’s coming, I promise!”

If a reader stops short of reading to the end of the book, they will not know how it all turns out. This is a simple illustration of hanging in there until the end. The same goes for movie-watching—if you walk out before it’s over, you’ll never know how it ends.

As we finished up the Book of Ruth at church, we can see that Ruth’s is a life of four chapters, so to speak. God told the basics of her life in just four chapters. 

Chapter one: The parts, some good and some bad, that lead up to her following God. 

Chapter two: The part where she steps into the beginning of her future, though she didn’t realize it—she meets the person who will change everything. 

Chapter three: The part where her future is secured. Note that the outcome was out of her hands; she just played the little part she was given.

Chapter four: Redemption. Marriage. Inheritance. Restoration. Descendants. Fulfilled prophecy. Formerly unimagined benefits of love, nurture, provision and a future.

Perhaps God put Ruth’s four-chapter life into the Bible to give us hope for the chapters of our own lives. Whether you are in an early chapter or the last chapter, there is a “next” chapter that says something’s coming (even if the chapter is eternity, the beginning of a whole new book). He has a plan, and it’s good. Don’t back out; don’t retreat; don’t close your eyes. Watch, and wait, and always, always hope in the goodness of our Lord.

It’s not over until it’s, you know, OVER. If you’re still breathing, it’s not over. And the most beautiful part is that if it’s over on earth, it’s just beginning in eternity.

“Blessed Redeemer, Your precious Word of promise gives us the hope we need. We know You have good things planned for us. In whatever chapter we are (You know which it is, Lord), teach us to wait and watch for what You are doing. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”