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Sunday, February 05, 2006

On Job

As I was reading Job the beginning of Job the other day, three verses stood out to me.
In Job 1:21, just after learning that all his valuable possessions- from camels, to sheep, to children- are destroyed Job says, "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away, Blessed be the name of the Lord."
Then, while covered head to foot with boils his wife says that Job is still "hold[ing] fast to [his] integrity" (Job 2:9).
In verse 10, Job responds to his wife's suggestion to "Curse God and die" with "Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?"
When I look at Job's troubles mine seem comparatively insignificant. Yet do I hold fast to my integrity, blessing the Lord and submitting to His will when those trials come?

You give and take away,
You give and take away,
My heart will choose to say,
Lord, blessed be Your name

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