Blessed Be The Name Of The Lord
By: Kristen L. McNulty
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I've been given a lot of things in my life. I've also had a lot of things taken away. That's been my story and I know that I'm not the only one out there who has seen that reality.
We receive enormous blessings, but we also have the sacred torn from our lives. That's the story of humanity. The result of the fall. But knowing we're not alone in our struggle doesn't make it that much easier.
How do we deal when these precious things are ripped away? If Job is any example to us, we deal with them in the same way and with the same attitude that we welcome the blessings.
I mean here's a guy who lost his family, his health, his wealth. Everything of importance- gone. But what did He say? In Job 1:21 he said:
“I came naked from my mother’s womb,
and I will be naked when I leave.
The Lord gave me what I had,
and the Lord has taken it away.
Praise the name of the Lord!”
In no matter how hard he was hit in life, Job's only response was praise. And God honored that. Later on the Bible says not only did He restore Job's health, but he blessed him with abundantly more than he had before. But Job didn't know that was coming to him when he said what he did. He only knew one thing: the same God who gives takes away and He deserves our praise.
This isn't an easy place to come to, but I'll tell you, it's the place where we can find peace and rest. What kind of a faith would it be if we loved God in the good times and cursed Him in the bad? That would be the same as loving your dad when he gives you the keys and yelling at him if he says you can't have the car tonight. It wouldn't be a very real relationship, know would it?
The truth of the matter is, at the end of the day, we're often never going to figure out why we face the things that we do. And the more things we face, the less important that becomes. Because knowing why something happens pales in comparison to the comfort we receive from God when we face the darker times in life.
The Lord gives. And the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
This devotional was aired as a part of the Making A Difference Christian Radio Show.