“THE LORD GAVE, AND THE LORD HAS TAKEN AWAY…”
— Job 1:21

 

 

From early on, God’s people understood that God is a giver. Job experienced it.

Seven sons. Three daughters. Thousands of sheep and camels. Hundreds of oxen and donkeys. And many servants. Job was given abundance. In fact, Scripture records, “This man was the greatest of all the people of the east.” (Job 1:3)

And in his riches Job remained righteous. He feared God. He woke up early to pray. He treasured God more than his wealth. We sometimes forget that it’s possible to be rich and righteous. It’s a worldly belief that money is the root of all evils. God’s word tells us it’s the love of money.

Some of us, like Job, find ourselves in a season of abundance. Life feels good. Our marriages are joyful. Our kids are happy. Our work is succeeding. The future is bright.

For others of us, a diagnosis caught us off guard. A relationship soured. A deal didn’t go through. An accident happened. Our bank accounts are drained. Our kids have walked away. Despite our prayers, we didn’t get the house. We asked for healing, but it hasn’t come yet. We’re looking for a godly spouse, but where are they?

The first two chapters of Job give us a window into a surprising spiritual dynamic.
Behind some of our struggles there is a God-ordained spiritual attack. It’s not punishment; it’s pruning. You’re not in trouble; you’re in training.

This is God’s mysterious way. He’s a good father who loves to bless us. He gives good and perfect gifts. And God also takes from us – often without preparation or explanation.

The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away.

Ultimately, the book of Job prepares us for another righteous man. Like Job, he would experience a season of abundance. Fish and bread were multiplied and water became wine. His fame spread, demons fled, and every disease was healed. He even heard God speak audibly from heaven.

But not much further down the road, this righteous man also walked in darkness, death threats and mounting tension. The religious leaders who should have recognized him maligned him. His disciples abandoned him. The crowds changed their cry from “Hosanna” to “Crucify.”

The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away.

The drama of the gospel is that the God who made the world and everything in it entered into that world as a character in his own story. And when he did so, he did not exempt himself from the very worst of earth.

If anyone deserves a life of perpetual peace and abundance it is God, but even he did not demand it. Instead, the Son of God was beaten, flogged and stripped. He was mocked, shamed, then pierced in hands and feet. Jesus entrusted his soul to God the Father when everything was taken away, even his very life.

Jesus did that for us. For when Jesus rose from death, he reconciled us to God the Father forever.

We can now live with extreme confidence that no matter what happens in life, no matter what God gives or takes away, the one thing he’ll never take away is himself.

© John Rinehart 2025