God's Glory Church

“The Lord gave, and the Lord took away… Blessed be the Lord’s Name!” — Job 1:21
Carol couldn’t understand why all of this was happening at the same time: her daughter had broken her leg at school, and she herself had come down with a severe infection. “What did I do to deserve this?” Carol asked herself. All she could do was ask God for strength.

Job also did not know why misfortune hit him so hard. His pain and loss were far greater than Carol’s. There is no indication that he knew about the cosmic battle for his soul. Satan wanted to test Job’s faith by saying that he would turn away from God if he lost everything (Job 1:6-12). When disaster struck, Job’s friends insisted that he was being punished for his sins. It wasn’t really the cause of his suffering, but he must have wondered, “Why me?” He did not know that it happened by the will of God.

The story of Job teaches us a powerful lesson about suffering and faith. We try to find the cause of our pain, but there may be a bigger story behind it that we cannot fathom in our lifetime.

Like Job, we can hold on to what we know: God is completely in control. It is not easy to say, but in the midst of his pain, Job continued to look to God and believe in His sovereignty: “The Lord gave, and the Lord took away… Blessed be the Lord’s name” (v. 21). So, let’s trust God even when we don’t understand what is happening.

What challenges do you face? What promises of God give you strength to go on?
Dear Father, I don’t understand why some of life’s trials happen to me. However, I still trust You.
Author: Leslie Koh