Image
In verse three of the great hymn of courage “Be Still My Soul”, when grief has pierced our hearts at the deaths of our dearest ones, we have a reminder of God’s prospective mercy:
Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,
And all is darkened in the vale of tears,
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.
Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.
In the Book of Job, God’s servant loses his health, his children and his property and says in Job 1:21 “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Notice something interesting in the Book of Job. In chapter 42, we see that God restored double of everything Job lost.
In chapter 1 Job lost 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 oxen, and 500 donkeys.
In chapter 42 Job received from the Lord double of what he had lost (14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 oxen, and 1,000 donkeys). So that in the end, he had twice as much property as he started out with.
But one thing here is very instructive. In Job chapter 1, he had 10 children (7 sons and 3 daughters). In Job chapter 42, he only received from God 10 children (7 sons and 3 daughters).
Why didn’t God double the number of children he gave to Job like he did the number of animals?
Why didn’t God give him 20 children? Because his first 10 children were not lost. They would be reunited with Job at the conclusion of his earthy life.
God has promised us in 2 Corinthians 4:17 that even the most severe losses will someday seem like a “light and momentary affliction” compared to the “eternal glory they produce.”
Soul, be at peace: your faithful Lord will never depart and will repay far more from his fullness than all he takes away.