After suffering great loss, Job said, “The Lord gives and takes away. Blessed be his name” (Job 1:21).
I appreciate the value of God’s gifts. I wish I had more. Didn’t the apostle Paul say we should earnestly covet God’s best gifts (1 Corinthians 12:31)? I sure don’t want him to take anything away. Where’s the good in that? I see no reason to be thankful for what is taken away.
I’d like to think, when something is taken away, the problem wasn’t God. But maybe I have the wrong idea, that it’s the beginning of a new opportunity. Maybe, if I had a positive outlook and believed God would allow nothing except for my good, I might see the value. I might be helped if I remember the promise of Roman 8:28, that God causes the bad things to work for good.
When God either causes or allows something to be subtracted from my life, does this mean something greater is about to be added?
