And suddenly it was all gone…Part Two

In the Old Testament, there was a man named Job who endured suffering, hardship and despair. Job had everything that any man could possibly dream of, wealth, riches, mansions, land, abundance of cattle and a thriving family. He was living the dream with daily family feasts and celebrations. Job was a respectful, blameless and honorable man. Job was a good man and a wonderful father to his children. And yet overnight, for no apparent reason and through no fault of his own, Job suddenly lost everything…. Job was robbed of his possessions He lost his house and livelihood in a fire. During that same period, his children tragically died in adverse weather conditions. Suddenly everything he owned was gone… Suddenly, everything he loved and lived for was lost… And yet, Job didn’t do anything wrong or anything to deserve this.

I chose to highlight Job’s experience because number one, Job is a survivor and number two, his story can be an account of our journey from brokenness to restoration. Why do I mention restoration? Job’s story ends with his fortune being miraculously restored. He went on to be blessed with a new family and lived to be a great great grandfather and died an old man full of years. And yet this road to restoration was not an easy ride for him. In my next blog, I would like us to explore the ‘in-between’ years for Job. The crux of the story is in the middle. The meat of the story is between the bread. How did Job move from losing everything to re-gaining all? How did Job overcome his challenges? How did he climb the mountain of obstacles to reach the peak? Is their hope after loss and grief? Can we get to our promised land too? Can we really experience restoration too?

Friend, continue the journey with me in the next blog where I will show you how Job was able to overturn his misfortunes rather than his misfortunes overturning him.