In this life when pain and loss come, we are never without the effect of God’s restorative blessings if our heart remains pliable to His will. This is why we can praise the Lord no matter what comes our way. The life of Job is an example of the Lord’s restoration.

After the Lord spoke to Job laying out a panoramic vision of His wisdom and judgment in all creation, Job responded, “You asked, who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance? It is I – and I was talking about things I knew nothing about” (Job 42: 3). Then Job said, “I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance” (vs. 6). In our place of pain and loss we can say foolish things, but those words can be erased by our repentance.

At that point, the Lord turned to address Job’s friends, “After the Lord had finished speaking to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite: ‘I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has’” (vs.7). The friends of Job thought they had all the answers, but as they spoke, they spoke without an understanding of the heart of God. In His mercy, the Lord said to Job’s friends, “I will not treat you as you deserve, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has” (vs.8). 

The restoration of Job’s life began when Job demonstrated mercy for his friends and prayed for them, “When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before!” (vs. 10). 

The restoration of Job’s life was more profound in scope than all the success he had gained before his time of affliction, “So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning” (vs.12). 

The last verse in the book of Job reveals the testimony of his life and the mercy of God, “Then he died, an old man who had lived a long, full life” (vs. 17). Job’s life was full because the Lord found a person who remained true to Him, even when the troubles of life had overwhelmed him. Humility before God releases the restoration of all things.