Sorrow and Restoration

How should we understand the ending of the book of Job? In this excerpt from his teaching series The Book of Job, Derek Thomas discusses sorrow and the power of God to bring restoration and change.

Transcript

What's this saying? Is it saying if you trust the Lord, that God'll give you a happy ending? You're in a trial, you're in a difficulty, but just trust Him, and there'll be a happy ending. He'll restore your fortunes. Is that what we're supposed to draw from this? No, of course not. No, some people's lives end in shadow, and in darkness—marriages that are irreconcilable, relationships with children that just seem to go from bad to worse, and they're never restored, despite all the longings and prayers and urgings.

So we mustn't misuse this chapter. It is saying this though: God can change your life from what it is right now 180 degrees. He's able to do that. I'm not saying that's God's plan for you. I don't have the authority to say that. But I can say to you it is more than possible, in the providence and power and sovereignty of Almighty God, that this darkness can be taken away.

Did Job ever forget the trial? No. If this was a movie, there would be a shot, I think, of the ten graves in the background somewhere, and then the sound of children laughing and playing together. The sorrow is still there. The memory of it is still there. But it has been eclipsed, for a season, with joy. Springtime has come again. Maybe, maybe you think that springtime is never possible again, that the sun of summer will never shine on you again. Then read the book of Job, and see how this man's life ended in the providence of God's kind and sweet benevolence.