When we struggle to believe the best is ahead, it’s often a result of crippling pain and loss in the wake of our past.
In the Bible, there was a man named Job who had lost everything: His fortune, his health, his home, and every one of his children.
In his pain, Job often wondered if God was listening, or worse, if God even cared. He was so overwhelmed with grief he begged God to kill him for fear there was nothing more to live for. But Job also did something surprising. Job worshipped the God he didn’t understand.
God took note of Job’s faith in spite of his suffering and “the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before…the Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part” (Job 42:10,12).
The pain of our past is an opportunity to see God’s power.
Job’s story reminds us that our own story isn’t over yet. The pain of our past is an opportunity to see God’s power. No matter what you have lost, God is working in this very moment to restore your life and heart immeasurably more than you ever thought possible (Ephesians 3:20). Where you are now is not the end of your story. It’s only an intermission.