Trust in God - this can be a bigger step than most of us want to admit. There is a holy mystery in the way God works during the “middle” seasons of our lives. We often want the ending—the restoration, the rebuilding, the clarity. But God often does His deepest, most transformative work before the restoration arrives. If you need to catch up, you can find "In the Middle" 1, 2, and 3 here.
Job’s story teaches us this: sometimes God changes us long before He changes our circumstances. The middle is where God strengthens, steadies, restores.
Job’s Turning Point: An Encounter, Not an Explanation
Job spent chapter after chapter asking God why. He wanted answers, explanations, and clarity. His friends tried to offer reasons and explanations, but those fell short for sure.
When God finally spoke, He didn’t give Job reasons - He gave revelation. God revealed His greatness, sovereignty and wisdom. He reminded Job of His intimate care over all creation. When Job answers the Lord, his response is so beautiful and shows growth and understanding that he did not have before:
Job answered the Lord and said:
“I know that You can do everything,
And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.
You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
Listen, please, and let me speak;
You said, ‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’
I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear,
But now my eye sees You”. (Job 42:2-5)
“I had heard of You…but now my eye sees You.” (It's not a psalm, but still a great place for a selah - pause and think of that!)
Sometimes the “next step” in your healing is not the restoration you were hoping for in the natural - sometimes the next step is a clearer vision of who God is. Before anything in Job’s life was rebuilt, Job himself was restored. Hang in there - the restoration is coming for Job!
From the Wounding Came Faithful Healing
The enemy meant to destroy Job, but God had a greater plan: pruning, not punishment; refining, not rebuke.
God’s faithfulness throughout our in-the-middle days leads to:
- deeper dependence
- stronger trust
- clearer vision
- a steadier heart
This is the kind of trust that isn’t shaken by circumstances because it wasn’t built on circumstances. This is how God restores us “in the middle”—not with explanations, but with formation.
Job’s Restoration and His Trust in God: A Biblical Example
Job’s story doesn’t end with unanswered questions—it ends with restoration that reflects God’s faithfulness and the fruit of His work in the middle. Scripture tells us:
- Restored possessions and family: “The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand donkeys.” (Job 42:12)
- Restored family relationships: God gave Job seven sons and three daughters, and even the text notes the daughters were especially beautiful. (Job 42:13–15)
- Job’s response: Job prayed for his friends, demonstrating the humility, mercy, and wisdom he gained through his middle season. (Job 42:8–9)
- God’s faithfulness and vindication: Job’s health, reputation, and relationships were fully restored—not as if the pain never happened, but as a testimony of God’s faithfulness through the trial.
Job’s restoration shows us several truths for our own middle seasons:
- God restores what the middle has refined. The restoration comes after the heart has been shaped and trust deepened.
- Our response matters. Job prayed for those who had failed him, showing that restoration flows through humility, obedience, and mercy.
- God’s faithfulness is unwavering. Even when life seemed shattered, God had a plan to restore fully and abundantly.
By looking at Job, we see that restoration is not only about circumstances—it’s about transformation. God works on our hearts first, preparing us to receive and steward His blessings well.
Recognizing When God Is Leading You Into the “Next Step”
Restoration rarely arrives all at once. More often, it comes in quiet markers—holy hints that God is moving you forward:
- Clarity begins to rise out of confusion. It doesn’t mean everything makes sense—just that something does.
- Peace slowly pushes out panic. Not because the situation has changed, but because God has strengthened your heart within it.
- Obedience becomes easier than resistance. Surrender feels less like loss and more like relief.
- You sense God inviting you toward something new. A next step or new habit or a release - these are signs of God’s hand restoring you from the inside out.
God Restores Before He Rebuilds
By the time Job’s circumstances were restored, Job was already different - more grounded, more trusting, more surrendered, more whole. That is what God does in the middle. He prepares you for the blessing He’s already prepared for you. He strengthens the foundation before He erects the new walls. He restores your heart before He restores your home. Let's trust in God as He works, before we see His intended end.
Let’s finish this up next week - join me on the blog and/or the podcast! Visit www.connectmentoringnetwork for more resources. I can’t wait to connect with you again soon!
We talked a few weeks ago about “starting the clap” (blog, podcast), and I wanted to continue the discussion, maybe take it further. Beyond leaving behind competition, let’s crush the scarcity mentality and activate abundance in the entire Body of Christ. It’s not about me, it’s not about you, it’s about SOULS and expanding the kingdom of God! Step one: overcome envy in ministry - and to be honest, overcome envy in life!
What do I mean when I say “scarcity mentality”? Scarcity means “insufficiency or shortness of supply”. Scarcity is the opposite of abundance which is what Christ offers to us (John 10:10). When we adopt a “scarcity mentality”, we adopt a wrong way of thinking that there is not enough to go around, and the downward spiral begins: “if you are winning, it must mean that I am losing”, “if you are loved, it must mean that I am unloved”, “if you are successful, it must mean that I am not successful”. All of that is a lie from the enemy of your soul meant to isolate you and create competition between you and people who are on your team. Makes it impossible for you to “start the clap”.
Even though Christ means for us to live in abundance, it can be hard for some of us to recognize that abundance for one really and truly does mean abundance for all. God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34), what He is offering to one He really does offer to all. There is no competition, there is always enough, God’s gifts are abundant.
When we leave the scarcity mentality and truly recognize that the abundant life means abundant life, we realize that all of us can win, and we’ll actually want all of us to win! (And that’s just like God, isn’t it? To actually mean what He says? Make this thing called Christian discipleship easy on us to understand? Don’t overcomplicate, don’t overthink, don’t make this hard: you can celebrate what is happening in others because you recognize that their success doesn’t mean less for you.
Now let’s take the next step: actually desire for others to succeed! Pray for others’ success and see God enlarge their impact—for His glory.
Praying for Others Will Help You Overcome Envy
Praying for someone else’s success shifts our perspective from comparison to collaboration, from scarcity mentality to abundance mentality. Watch this shift: “if you are winning, it must mean that I am winning too - we are on the same team!”. Envy thrives in the space where we focus on what we don’t have, measuring our worth against another’s achievements. When we lift others up in prayer, our hearts align with God’s purposes (and as a side bonus, our own insecurities are diminished in the joy!). Sincere prayer trains us to see blessings as abundant, not scarce. Sincere prayer reminds us that celebrating someone else’s victories does not lessen our own. Actually - it cultivates excitement and gratitude for the ways God is already working in our lives.
Beyond perspective, prayer actively reshapes our hearts. When we sincerely ask God to bless others—to expand their impact, increase their influence, and empower their gifts—we begin to release control, comparison, and jealousy. We recognize that God’s kingdom is bigger than any one of us, and His plan for someone else’s success does not compete with ours. Over time, praying for others transforms envy into joy, replacing the subtle poison of resentment with a spirit of partnership and celebration. This is how the Body of Christ thrives: through mutual encouragement, support, and a shared desire to see God glorified in every life.
I could expand on this, but the Lord already inspired better writers than me to illustrate and drive home this principle - why put ruffles on the stars? Here’s some Scripture to put in your pocket as you break envy and pray for others:
Scripture Warnings Against Envy:
- James 3:14–16 – “But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth… For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.”
- Proverbs 14:30 – “A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.”
- Galatians 5:26 – “Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”
Prayers in Scripture that Bless Ministry Impact
- 1 Timothy 2:1 – Paul urges Timothy to pray for others: “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people.”
- Philippians 1:3–5, Paul prays with joy because of the partnership of others in the gospel: “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now”
- Colossians 1:9–10 – Paul continually prays that others “may be filled with the knowledge of his will… bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”
Who needs more than that? Plain vanilla wonderful already!
Prayers in Scripture that Break Envy
- Job 42:10 – “And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends.”
- Matthew 5:44 – “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (If prayer changes your heart toward enemies, it will certainly soften it toward fellow laborers!)
- Romans 12:14–15 – “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”
Rejoicing in Others’ Ministry Success
- 1 Corinthians 3:6–7 – “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” (All success belongs to God—so we can rejoice when He prospers another’s work.)
- Philippians 1:15–18 – Paul rejoices even when others preach Christ from rivalry: “Whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.”
- Romans 12:10 – “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.”
Prayers in Scripture for Expanding Others’ Influence
- 2 Thessalonians 3:1 – “Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you.”
- Ephesians 6:18–20 – Paul asks for prayer that he and all the saints may boldly proclaim the gospel: “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak”
- Psalm 115:14–15 – “May the Lord give you increase, you and your children! May you be blessed by the Lord, who made heaven and earth!”
These verses together give a strong biblical framework: prayer not only blesses others but also frees us from envy, reshaping our hearts to celebrate what God is doing through someone else. Prayer shifts our focus from comparison to collaboration, from competition to Kingdom partnership. It’s hard to stay jealous when you’re sincerely praying for someone else! It’s hard to be in competition with someone who you want to see win!
There was a preacher I followed in my younger days, and he used to say something that I always remember: “what you make happen for others, God will make happen for you!” When I couple that with powerful Scripture about prayer like the above, I’m inspired by the abundance that Christ offers - and I realize that praying for others makes me part of something bigger than me. The abundance that Christ means for all of us is realized in my life, and I rejoice when I see His abundance in the lives of those around me.
Let’s pray for each other today - because the dropping the scarcity mentality in exchange for an abundance mentality is a treasure!
Subscribe to this blog here at www.connectmentoringnetwork.org and join me to continue the conversation on Thursdays on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@JenniferWSpivey.
