Job 1:21

Job 1:21 – “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

One of the most iconic tragedies in the Bible can put a lot of things into perspective for us. As sinners, we often make the mistake of thinking that the men and women of the Bible are in some way superhuman, or superior to us in some way. We tend to think that for some reason they were holier than we are by default, or that they were born with more patience. While I’m sure their lifestyles brought them different struggles than what we combat day-to-day, this still couldn’t be farther from the truth. Job was just an ordinary man – he was no different than you and I. In fact, he likely had more to lose than what most people do today. He was extremely wealthy in his time and had a large family to comfort him. Up until his great trial, anyway. It’s not often that someone loses as much as Job did within such a short amount of time. His livestock, his health, even his own children were taken from him in an instant.

Yet, what was the first thing that he did after losing what seemed to be his entire pride and joy? He praised God. He later questioned the tests that God had put him through, but he never gave up on his faith – not once. This is one of the hardest things to do after we experience tribulation or tragedy, and it often doesn’t alleviate our initial pain. Still, there is so much to learn from how Job behaves in these first two chapters. Not only can we reflect on how steadfast Job’s faith and loyalty to God were, but we see how the Lord rewarded him for his devotion. Even if he hadn’t, his trust in God undoubtably would have been paid back to him in life after death. Such a wonderful reminder to be “patient in tribulation” (Rom. 12:12).

I love this verse so much, because displays the power of scripture really well. The fact that only half of a verse can be so poetic. It tells a whole story in one perfectly constructed sentence. The Lord gives. The Lord takes away. The Lord is good, through it all.

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