Daily Verse: Job 1:21

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.
 

The words above were spoken by Job after witnessing much of his world (house, family, etc.) snatched from his hands. In our world today, this verse is commonly seen when things start to go south. When a tornado smashes a town, a family member passes on, or a job is unexpectedly lost. We typically look at it as a way of coping with some kind of loss, recognizing that there are times where God takes things away…and that is ok. We soldier-on knowing that while things are taken away, the Lord also provides. But the other day, I saw an online post that simply said: “The Lord gives”…and naturally I was waiting for the second half to appear: “and the Lord takes away”. When I did not see it, I began to reflect a bit on the seemingly “incomplete” message: “The Lord gives”. It is easy to focus on what we do not have or what has been taken away from us in this life. And in this focus, we fail to take time to consider all that we have been given. For most, if not all of us, our list of things given by the Lord would largely outweigh the list of things taken away. Maybe it’s because we are so abundantly blessed with so many things from the hand of God that we fail to take an inventory of this mighty bounty…there are simply too many! Or maybe it’s because we are just fallen creatures, wrecked in our own sinful behavior. Whatever the cause, I pray that today, and each day going forward, we take the time to reflect on our blessings…both the large and small…and give thanks and praise to our undeservedly merciful and loving Lord for all that he has provided. To God be the glory!