He gives and takes away.

I'm not sure how many of you are following the 40-day fast..but this was what I read on the devotion on 5th August:

Job 1:8-12"Then the Lord said to Satan. "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil." "Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied," Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face." The Lord said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger." Then Satan went out of the presence of the Lord."

v. 20-22"At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked will I depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised." In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing."

I find it so amazing- is it possible to have such faith? Sometimes, we struggle with even letting go simple pleasures in life eg. a bit more of sleep to do a proper Quiet Time in the morning or arriving in Church early, giving that second offering to aid mission work, putting aside an allocated time each week to just sit at the feet of Jesus... the list goes on.

Recently, I have seen close friends go through tough life situations such as losing their job, losing their baby through miscarriage...the verse "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked will I depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised." (Job 1:21) just jumped out at me! How many of us can still give praise and worship to God in such a situation without harbouring bitterness? The realisation also dawned upon me that nothing in this world actually belongs to us...nothing that we own actually belongs to us.Honestly, I have no answer to the question above. And we pray that God will not test us beyond what we can bear. Yet, let us continue to give Him the praise and honour He deserves be it in good times or in bad. In the real test of faith, may we come forth as gold.