July 16 – Our Deepest Love (Job 1:13-22)

“The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”(Job 1:21)

IN WORD:
No, Job wasn’t thrilled with this turn of events. He made no effort to mask his grief. He was not just being stoic, and he certainly was not a Pollyanna. He was devastated, and he couldn’t hide it. But in his devastation, he remembered the character of God. He remembered that all things he had ever been given were gifts from a merciful hand. He had never really gotten attached.
That’s the problem in many of our trials. The things or people that are threatened are deeper attachments to us than the Lord Himself is. With many of our loves — whether they be possessions, people, places, or positions — we would almost rather lose God than lose them. We live with a sense of permanence in this world, and when that permanence is shaken, our security is shattered.
God has a better plan for us. He wants us to love the people He has placed in our lives and to appreciate his gifts, but He does not want us to lose sight of Him. In a crisis, when our world is shattered, He wants to be the foundation that never moves. If we’ve built on that foundation, we can say along with Job: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart” (vs. 21). We will remember that we will be what He wants us to be — nothing more, nothing less. We will live as though our lives are not ours, but His. And He can do whatever He wants with them — even if it’s tragic.

IN DEED:
It’s hard to maintain such an attitude. We have our agendas. We are filled with dreams and goals, attachments and loves. We have constructed our lives with all of the things we think we need most and many of the things that will comfort us. And when God lets His archenemy take one or all of those things away, we think our lives have been shattered.
The wise heart does not get overly attached to the things of God, but only to God. Measure your attachments with honesty. When you are enduring a trial, consider the value of your losses compared with the glory of God’s name. And let His name be praised.

“Our Heavenly Father never takes anything from His children unless He means to give them something better.”
-George Muller-