HOPE OF RESTORATION

“For THERE IS HOPE for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its tender shoots will not cease” – Job 14: 7

In Christ, there is unceasing HOPE of RESTORATION: “For there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its tender shoots will not cease. Though its root may grow old in the earth, and its stump may die in the ground, yet at the scent of water it will bud and bring forth branches like a plant” (Job 14: 7-9). When all seems over, God is just beginning: “unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain” (Jh.12:24).

Everything seemed to be going on well for Job. He had vast herds, riches and wealth, a wife, children who honoured him, and a relationship with God so strong that God boasted about him: “Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job; that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” (Job 1:8). At the start of his story, Job was like a flourishing tree. However, his standing with God did not insulate him from Satan’s attacks. He never dreamed that overnight, everything would nosedive (Job 1:13-18). He lost his fortune in one day!

God is fully aware of any gradual or sudden adversity we might have suffered; how it seems as if our visions and aspirations are withering. In his travails, Job found solace in “the Hope of a tree”! His words were not just blind words of faith. Job knew that if a tree is cut down and not uprooted, it has the chance to grow again. What sustains a tree is the root, not the leaves. The Hope of Restoration of a tree is not in its decorative leaves or flowers. These show the outward appearance of a tree but cannot compare with its roots which determine its strength. Leaves grow, are shed, and become a nuisance. But, roots are usually hidden; they deepen and spread to anchor the tree to the ground and provide life sustaining nutrients.

No matter how many leaves a tree has, if it is cut down, they will wither, like the many hangers on associated with our lives. When the going is good, the ‘leaves’ will thrive with us but when things turn around, they are nowhere to be found: “Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” (Jh.6:67). This is why we must invest in the eternal more than in the ephemeral (2Cor.4:18). The Hope for a tree cut down is that: “at the scent of water it will bud…” (v.9). Just a scent of water is enough: “O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water” (Psa.63:1). This reviving resource comes from God: “Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (Isa.43:19).

Wherever there is water, there is life. In the harshest of deserts, the Oasis offers life. Our Hope of Restoration is rooted in Christ: “but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (Jh.4:14). Christ in us is the Hope of Glory (Col.1:27). As long as we have Him, we have hope. Though the righteous may fall several times, he is not finished: “For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity” (Pro 24:16).

By God’s Light, we will always rise again: “Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; when I fall, I will arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me” (Mic. 7:8). Job sprouted and budded again. In Christ, we too can!