Accepting Trouble

Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised. Job 1:21

These words of Job are famous. They are often used in funerals. They were spoken following one of the most unimaginable series of disasters ever to befall an individual. At the beginning of the day Job was a prosperous man with a large family. Yet in the course of just one day, he lost all his oxen and donkeys, all his camels and sheep, most of his servants and, worst of all, his ten grown up children. It is hard to imagine a worse scenario, unless it is losing your health - and that is what happened next! We are unlikely ever to face troubles of that magnitude though we may begin to get close to it. The lesson from this verse is how to react in such situations. Job basically says five things here. Some of what he says we simply have to accept. Other ideas we may struggle with.
So first, we come from our mothers' wombs naked. That's a simple fact. No-one brings anything into this world. As for naked I shall depart I am not aware that many people are literally buried naked but the thought that 'you can't take anything with you when you die' is pretty easy to establish. On this bedrock Job erects his next two points. Firstly, that everything we have has been given to us by God - intellect, health, family, worldly goods, life itself. Equally, if we lose anything - mental or physical faculties, family, worldly goods, life itself, it must be because he has taken it away. Some struggle with that idea but it is hard to fault the logic. Finally, we come to Job's challenging conclusion - may the name of the LORD be praised. Of course, it is easier to praise God for giving than for taking but he is sovereign and ought to be praised at all times. As Job says to his wife in 2:10, after things have become worse again, Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble? Satan's contention was that Job only served God because of God's gifts. Here Job proves him wrong. Would we do the same?