Ep. 157 — All In Today + ”Full of Days”
Download the handwritten version of “Old and Full Of Days” here.
Download Ep. 157 — All In Today + ”Full of Days” audio/episode here.
Song from Jonathan McReynolds: God Is Good
Old and Full of Days.
“So Job died being old and full of days…”
I finished reading Job yesterday, and that line struck me again. I first noticed it a few years ago, and I might even have written about it, but, wow, Job died full.
There are a few reasons I love this. In the very beginning of Job's trial, God had given Satan permission to touch every single thing in his life with the exception of his life. And Satan took everything he was allowed to take and destroyed everything he was allowed to destroy, because, well, that's his MO.
In Job's grief, he even wished he was dead and longed to be dead, the weight of sorrow heavy upon him. But he didn't die in that low place, and the way the book of Job ends is an exclamation point on the Word of God. God always has the final say, the final word, the last laugh.
The exclamation point reads like this: “After this, lived Job one hundred and forty years and saw his sons and his sons' sons, even four generations, so Job died being full of days.” Exclamation point. After everything Job suffered and endured, the little fragments God had preserved: the beating of his heart, the breath in his lungs, and the diseased flesh, stretched taut over bones and limbs, were the things God used to bring his very own word to pass.
140 more years that included love and children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and twice as much as he'd had before Satan was allowed to touch him. Because if God says it, it will be so, just like it was at creation. Job died old and full of days because God had said Satan couldn't touch his life and he always keeps his word and then some. Exclamation point.
Number two, Job died full. Job died satisfied.
Several others in the Bible have this phrase spoken of them at their death, Abraham, Isaac, and Solomon. These men died old and full, but it strikes me especially in the life of Job, probably because he's known for trial, famous because of the suffering he endured. And while we know him because of the hardship and loss, the hardship and loss were not the defining characteristic of Job.
Fullness. That was the capstone on his life. That is the final sentence of his story.
When the Holy Ghost inspired the writing of his story, it inspired the writer to pen. Job died old and full of days. Not Job died empty or worn out or depleted or shriveled up, but full.
Full of days. He lived after trial and he lived full. As I sit here today on my 46th birthday, this phrase is resonating.
My heart is full. Beyond full. It is overflowing.
I certainly am no Job, but in my 46 years, I've known some heartbreak that I thought might stop my heart from beating. I've known some mental and emotional anguish that I wasn't sure I'd make it through. I've been in some fires that I thought might be a bit too hot, nights where it seemed the darkness would never end, and while those seasons and feelings were real, they're not the final sentence of this life. The story's not over, and like Job, I plan to die full of days.
My heart is full of gratitude for a God who has been better, better, better to me than words could ever say. Gratitude for every unexpected gift and door and blessing. In 46 years, I've seen more of God's faithfulness than I could have ever chosen to imagine. I've seen miracles unfold beyond what I could dream. In some ways, the words of Jacob resonate. I have seen God face to face, and my life has been preserved. I haven't wrestled a theophany, but He has preserved me on more than one occasion, and my heart is full.
Full of love for such a gracious God and love for all the amazing people He's allowed in my life. Love for His Word, His presence, His church. Full of love and full of joy.
My heart is full of joy that can only come from the root of joy, the Spirit of God. Full of joy that has been my strength when I've had none of my own. Joy that has buoyed me and sustained me and dried my tears and given me laughter. Even when the story is still in progress and questions aren't answered.
And full of hope. My heart is full of hope. Hope for new chapters, new miracles, new people, new places and faces, new awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping, shocking, goodness of God things that are yet to be seen. Hope that the first rays of dawn are going to peek up over the horizon line and push back the darkness. Full of the hope of heaven.
Full of gratitude. Full of love. Full of joy. Full of hope.
And full of faith. Faith that God will answer prayers. Faith that every single word he has spoken will come to pass. Faith that all things will work together for good. With the Apostle Paul, “I declare, I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.” Every promise is already done. I'm full of faith that Jesus is at the helm, working his plan and planning his work. And because of this, I am full of trust. Trust in his ways, his timing, his means and his methods.
Full of trust that He's in chapter 42, out there at the end of my story, out there at the end of every story woven into mine, and out there at the end of everyone's story who chooses to trust him.
“May your struggles keep you near the cross.
May your troubles show that you need God.
And may your battles end the way they should.
And may your bad days prove that God is good.
See, may your whole life prove that God is good.
My whole life proves that God is good.”
(Jonathan McReynolds)
Job died old and full of days.
Thank you for joining me for this journey!
Go grab your Bible and your journal!
I look forward to the power of this habit in your life. This is Unedited.