Assaulted By Life?

He said,

“I came naked from my mother’s womb,
    and I will be naked when I leave.
The Lord gave me what I had,
    and the Lord has taken it away.
Praise the name of the Lord!”

~Job 1:21 

Have you ever felt as if life was using you as a punching bag and you were quickly losing hope?  Consider the story of Job.  Job was a man who had everything going for him.  He had a large family; he had lots of donkeys and oxen; he had lots of sheep; he had lots of camels.  In short, Job was a very rich man. 

And then...a messenger arrives and delivers his news: "Sir, all your livestock has been killed or stolen."  bam!

WHILE THIS MESSENGER WAS STILL SPEAKING, here came another messenger with news: "Sir, all your sheep and shepherds have been killed."  Bam! 

WHILE THIS MESSENGER WAS STILL SPEAKING, here came another messenger with news: "Sir, all your camels have been taken and the handlers all killed." BAM!

WHILE THIS MESSENGER WAS STILL SPEAKING, here came another messenger with news: "Sir, all your children have been killed." BOOM!!!

In the span of probably less than an hour, Job went from the wealthiest man to the most destitute.  Talk about taking a huge beating...this was it!  In the Wall Street crash of 1929, people lost all their money in the matter of minutes and some chose to die rather than face life without their wealth.

Think about these things for a moment:

      * Job's wealth was not given to him instantaneously.  He had to work and work HARD for it.  

      * If we are not careful, we will take Job's response in verse 21 as being defeatist or stone cold resignation.  But if you look in verse 20, "Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship."  Job was devastated!  Job was in anguish!  

     *  Job ultimately understood that God had given him all his riches and God could take them all away.  God does what He chooses with all that is His...but it is ALWAYS for our good and His glory!  ALWAYS! Job understood this and focused on God, even though Job didn't understand the whys and wherefores, he trusted God above all else.

     *  In the end, God not only gave Job all that had been lost but gave him even more.  BUT this did not happen instantaneously either, this took time!  

When life starts beating us up, remember to focus on God and do what is right!  We may lose everything, but the one thing that cannot be taken away from us is our faith that God is still in control and will work EVERYTHING to our good and His glory.  But it might take some time. 

Life can be cruel!  Life can be hard!  God never promised us life would be easy.  But God did promise to never leave us or turn His back on us!  THAT is a promise more valuable then anything this life has to offer!