He gives...He takes!

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"The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the Name of the Lord" (Job 1:21)

No one other than Jesus suffered mentally and physically like Job. The Bible admonishes us to follow the "patience of Job" (Js 5:10,11). What he spoke when he suffered is worthy of close meditation. If patience is the sign of perfection, then words of patience become the crown of a perfect life.

The text mentioned above is famous for funeral services. We may read it today formally as a Bible text. But when the lips of Job gave birth to these words, it was an absolutely real confession, which sprang from a heart of honesty. The losses of Job were by no means ordinary. Death of his cattle, their caretakers and his children, all in quick succession (Job 1:13-19). To worsen the situation he became sick with an abominable disease. In order to escape the situation, his wife suggested to him, "Curse God and die!"

Several advocates of positive confession tell us that Job was right when he said, "The Lord gave!" but he was wrong when he added, "The Lord has taken away!" They say it was not the Lord but Satan who took away Job's blessings. The fallacy of this interpretation is obvious. In the very next verse of the narrative the Holy Spirit has recorded, "In all of this Job did not sin by blaming God" (v22). The Scripture again says, "In all this Job said nothing wrong!" (2:10). Job's understanding was that God was supreme and sovereign. Satan was simply God's servant! How profound was the theology of this patriarch! It was this knowledge that made Job praise God for everything in every situation.

We are taught to "be always thankful, no matter what happens, for this is God's will for us who belong to Christ Jesus" (1 Thess 5:18). We may not "feel" like praising God while we are crushed with pain and problems. It doesn't matter, praise God anyway. Praise God when you feel like praising Him; Praise Him when you don't feel like praising Him; keep on praising Him until you feel like praising Him!

Come, ye disconsolate, where'er ye languish—
Come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel;
Here bring your wounded hearts; here tell your anguish:
Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal!
 (Thomas Moore, 1779-1852)

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