Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, and said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; "BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD!"

 

 

 When difficulties in life come our way, how do we respond?  I hope that we can learn something from Job as he dealt with tremendous losses.  His servants were slain.  His cattle was slain.  His sons died from a great wind that caused the house where they were to cave in.  Job's suffering was great.  Yet he understood the importance of "worshiping" God even in the midst of his sorrows.  In this life, we will all have trials and tribulations at one time or another.  For some, it may be hard to understand why God allows so much trouble in our situations.  Regardless of the reason, I agree with Job, God is worthy of all praise and worship.

  

1.  First of all, we don't own anything.  Everything that we have is made available by the grace of God.  We are not here by accident.  God gave us life.  God gave us the ability to laugh and be happy.  Our material possessions come through God.  We have been blessed with more than we deserve because of God's Grace. 

  

2.  God is Sovereign.  Since all that we have comes from Him, He certainly has the right to take it away.  Perhaps this seems a bit harsh.  But we know that God is a kind and merciful God.  So if He takes it away, it is for a good reason that only He may understand.  Those of us who know the story of Job, know that God blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning (Chapter 42, verse 12).  He gave Job twice as much as he had before (Chapter 42, verse 10).

  

3.  So what would be the proper response to God when trouble is overwhelming in our lives?  Well according to Job's wife (Chapter 2, verse 9), Job should have cursed God and died. How terrible that would have been.  Job remembered that he came into the world out of his mother's womb with nothing, and if it was the Lord's will, he would return to the Lord with nothing.  Regardless, Job expressed, "BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD."

  

The next time your suffering seems overwhelming, just respond as Job did by worshipping God.  He will never leave you nor forsake you.  His mercies are everlasting.  His grace is sufficient.  His decisions are true.  And His peace passes all understanding.  Finally, there is just something about that name.  For those reasons and more, I gladly proclaim, BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD!