After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before. Job 42:10
“The restoration of health and riches to Job prefigures the resurrection, which gives health and eternal life to those who believe in Christ… And just as Job fathered other sons, so too did Christ, for the apostles, the sons of the Lord, succeeded the prophets.”
Zeno of Verona (300-371) in Sermon 15 as recounted Milton Walsh in Witness of the Saints: Patristic Readings in the Liturgy of the Hours (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2012) 193.
If you find yourself in hard times, consider Job. He had good times, then the hardest of times, and then something happened. The Lord restored his fortunes. As Zeno notes, this story “prefigures of the resurrection” of Jesus Christ who gives health and life better than before to all who believe.
We must share this generous gift which brings hope to the hurting. God sees us in our brokenness and desires our flourishing. If you have not downloaded the devotional, FLOURISH, I recently co-authored with Jenni Hoag and Linda Maris, download it freely in English or Spanish from the GTP website today.
And I learned on Saturday that FLOURISH will soon be available in Ukrainian and Russian. This is great news in advance of my GTP travels and ministry in Ukraine and Moldova in June and July with my wife, Jenni. Few can relate to Job today more than war torn people of Ukraine or refugees that have flooded into countries like Moldova.
To support our efforts to bring hope and a vision of restoration to the hurting, please make a gift to GTP here today.