BLAMING GOD

 

Job 1:20-22  Job stood up and tore his robe in grief.  Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground before God.  He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be stripped of everything when I die.  The LORD gave me everything I had, and the LORD has taken it away.  Praise the name of the LORD!  In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.

If anyone had a reason to blame God for his misfortune, it was Job.  Job was a man who was determined to live a righteous life.  He was found to be blameless before both God and man.  And then, in a matter of hours, his whole life was turned upside down.  He lost everything that was meaningful to him except his wife.  His wealth was gone, all of his children were killed, all his crops and livestock were destroyed, and he was afflicted with an unbearable outbreak of boils all over his body.  What would you do in similar circumstances?  Would you in anger point a finger at God and want to know why?  I think most people would, but Job didn’t.

Job was overcome with grief, but he did not blame God.  He understood that he came into this world with nothing and would leave it with nothing.  He understood that the blessings of life are not ours to hoard, but to enjoy while we have them.  He understood that we don’t deserve God’s favor when we receive it.  It is God’s right to bless and withdraw His blessings.  Job did not know the whys of his sudden misery, but he was confident enough in God’s love and goodness that he could trust the Lord.  He would not respond negatively towards God, but positively.  He praised the Lord!  He turned to God and worshiped Him.  He would deal with his calamity later, but at the moment he turned to the Lord and praised Him.

Don’t blame God if you are going through tough times in your life.  Don’t turn away from God and think that He doesn’t love you or care about what you are dealing with.  Don’t let Satan confuse your thinking and cause you to think that God is against you.  Look around you; you are richly blessed. 

There are a multitude of people who will never know the blessings you have in life.  No matter how bad things may be for you, it is not as bad as it could be.  We too need to understand that we enter the world with nothing and will leave it with nothing.  Don’t hang on too tightly to stuff.  It can all be taken away from you in a moment of time.  Like Job, learn to praise the Lord at all times, for all things.  Don’t fall into sin by blaming God for your hard times.  Respond positively and not negatively to life’s circumstances by always worshiping God and being grateful to Him for your life and blessings.