At a recent Bible Study we were looking at a passage in the book of Job. That motivated me to read that entire book again. In the first chapter, we find that Job was an extremely wealthy man.

Job 1:3 … he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants.

The following verses describe an encounter between the Devil and the Lord. God holds up Job as an example of a faithful and righteous man. Satan says that is only true because Job has so much wealth. God gives Satan permission to afflict Job, but forbids him from attacking his person.

We hear next that four messengers bring bad tidings to Job. The first spoke of Sabean raiders carrying off his oxen and donkeys. The next brings news that fire consumed his sheep and servants. The third spoke of Chaldean raiders absconding with his camels. And the fourth brought the message of a tragedy resulting in the death of all his children. Satan lambasted Job with all his evil might. And yet, in spite of his tremendous losses, we read this:

Job 1:21–22  [Job] said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” ²² In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

Lord, give us such a faith as this, a faith that recognizes you are in control. Help us to remember the love that would not let us go, a love that sent your Son to rescue us from the sentence of eternal destruction that we deserve. Remind us how richly we have been blessed and how often we fail to honor you.

As I was thinking about this, I remembered the chorus of a song Ray Boltz released in the late 1980s. It was about Paul and Silas chained in a prison cell after having been beaten, and they said:

But I will praise the Lord
I will praise the Lord
No matter what tomorrow brings
Or what it has in store
I will praise the Lord

(You can listen to the entire song at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NA1gGHUATs)

We have the same confidence that Paul and Silas had, that Jesus is the Christ who paid for our sin and gives us the certainty of life everlasting. No matter what the Lord gives or takes away, may we join Job in praising the Lord.