One of Matt Redman's famous songs, "Blessed Be Your Name," contains one of the most powerful declarations that any Christian should know and take to heart. The lyrics of the song's bridge goes:
"You give and take away/ You give and take away/ My heart will choose to say/Lord blessed be Your name."
That line is actually declaration made by Job, right after he lost his children and herds all in one fell swoop. There's so much to learn from Job's experience. After learning it, we should actually be declaring the same thing ourselves.
Here are some things we should know about Job's declaration, as read in Job 1:21.
1. God Blesses Us
"I came naked from my mother's womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had..."
Job was a rich man who had a big family. These things are blessings from the Lord who is the Giver of all good things. God wants to prosper us, bless our relationship with Him, and wants us to enjoy Him. He wants our lives prospered in righteousness.
Job was a righteous man who made God proud. He prayed for his children constantly. He wasn't lazy, and instead had a booming business. He wasn't stingy, and allowed his children to welcome other people in his household.
God wants us to be like that, too: prayerful, not lazy, and generous. God blesses such character.
2. God Allows Loss in Our Lives
"... and the Lord has taken it away."
God isn't the one who inflicts pain and loss – it's the devil that does that. God allows him to do that for the purpose of refining us.
Anybody who's a Christian knows that the Christian life isn't blissful all the time. God doesn't take away all the problems and troubles of this life when we become Christian. Rather, He goes with us as we experience trouble. Because of Him, all our suffering becomes meaningful and purposeful – not some senseless pain that we hate.
3. We Can Choose to Praise God in Times of Great Pain and Suffering
"Praise the name of the Lord!"
One of the biggest takeaways from Job's experience is that we can always choose to praise God even in the midst of much pain and suffering.
Truth be told, no amount of human pain and suffering could ever diminish the greatness and the goodness of God. He remains loving, kind, merciful and worthy of our praise all the time. Thus, we should learn to praise Him when we are experiencing grief. He deserves it nonetheless.
God Has Better Plans for Us
We read at the end of the book of Job that God blessed him with more than what he lost. If we trust God in and through our ordeals, we will soon realise that God has actually blessed us with more than what we lost. He has better plans for us, and it's best to trust and praise Him all the time.
