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我是在阿尔伯塔省中部的一个农场长大的，那里的杨树、白杨树和桦树都栽在田地边上。虽然有一些大树，但它们的生长需要很长的时间，非本地树木必须精心照顾才能茁壮成长。

一年前的冬天，气温迅速降到零下35℃（华氏零下31度）以下，部分树木受损。然而，我的父母并没有在春天直接砍掉这些看似枯死的树木，而是希望这些树木能够恢复。而到了夏季中旬，许多受损的树木在树干底部周围果然长出了新的树苗。

当约伯处于最低谷的时候——在失去了家庭、家园和生活之后，他没有得到朋友的支持，他把树木看成是坚韧的标志。他感叹“人死亡而消灭”，但他说，“树木至少还有希望”。那时候，约伯无法摆脱悲伤。但一段时间后，他提出了一个明确的信仰声明：“我知道我的救赎主活着，末了必站立在地上。”（伯 19:25）

接着，约伯呼应了树干死在土中，及至得了水气，还要长出枝条的想法，他说：“我这皮肉灭绝之后，我必在肉体之外得见神。……我的心肠在我里面消灭了。” （伯 19:26-27）

I grew up on a farm in Central Alberta, where poplars, aspens, and birch trees grow along the edges of fields. While there are some big trees, it takes a long time for them to grow, and non-native trees have to be cared for meticulously in order to thrive.

A year ago last winter, temperatures quickly dropped below -35C (-31F) and damaged some of the trees. However, rather than simply cutting down what looked like dead trees in the spring, my parents were hopeful that the trees might recover. And by the middle of summer, many of the damaged trees had new saplings growing around the base of the trunk.

When Job was at his lowest point—after losing his family, his home, and his livelihood— and he wasn't receiving support from his friends, he looked to trees as a sign of resilience. He lamented that "a man dies and is laid low," but he noted, "At least there is hope for a tree." At that point, Job couldn't see past his sorrow. But awhile later he summoned up a clear statement of faith: "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth."

Job then echoed the idea of a stump dying in the soil and yet putting out shoots at the scent of water as he said, "And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God…How my heart yearns within me!"