The Gifts Or The Giver?

Heart Prep

God, help me to praise You in the good times and the bad times.

Job 1:21 “He said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked I shall return there.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.’”

If you haven’t read the book of Job, you need to. But, be prepared--it’s depressing until the very end! Job is a good man who has followed closely after God and done what is right. God has blessed him with lots of children, money, cattle, and health. Satan comes to God and says that if He takes away all Job has that Job won’t serve Him any more. He accuses Job of only serving God because of what He has given him. So, God allows Satan to take it all away, everything except his life.

In the midst of this, Job is still able to praise God. His children are dead, his farm, animals, and servants destroyed, his money gone, and his health failing. Yet, he says, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away,” and he still chooses to worship God. His wife even tells him to curse God and die, and he asks her, “Shall we accept good from God and not accept adversity (Job 2:10)?”

We should all ask ourselves this question: Do I thank God and praise Him when my life is good and easy and then get mad when it’s not going so great? Do I just love the gifts, or the Giver of the gifts? God is good even when our circumstances are not. Even if He does not give us one more blessing, He gave us the gift of life and the gift of His Son and an eternal home with Him. That’s more than He had to do for us, and we should praise Him, no matter what.

Life Application

What is God saying to me?

Something I want to remember from this is....

How does this change my life and what are my next steps?