There’s absolutely no way I can see myself responding the way Job did upon hearing news of unbelievable tragedy. Job tore his robe and shaved his head, traditional signs of mourning, then he 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.

Astounding. The book of Job is thought to be the oldest in the Bible. Humankind has wrestled with questions of pain and loss from the beginning.

As I ponder, I’m most unnerved by this line of Job’s—the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.

It’s the taking away that bothers me. I want the Lord to give and give and give, all good things, piling them up. In reality, the Lord does pile up good in my life. But he also takes away, for reasons I may never understand. Like Job, I need to eventually turn toward faith and trust in the Lord.

Because in the end, the Lord is all we have. We leave this world with nothing and then meet him face-to face, dependent solely on his grace and mercy to receive us.

May the name of the Lord be praised.

Job 1 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Andres Haro