If anyone in Scripture had reason to ask why the Lord gives and takes away, it was Job. He’d lost everything, including his children. In modern times, so-called ministers of the gospel teach a message of prosperity and abundance, even as many are struggling to survive paycheck to paycheck.
Some of those who buy into that prosperity gospel encounter difficulties and, like Job, see what they have suddenly vanish. Often, people turn away from Christ as a result, angry and resentful. So, why is "the Lord gives and the Lord takes away" such a hard concept to grasp?
What Does "The Lord Gives and the Lord Takes Away" Mean?
If we are mature people, we never look back on those times when our parents took things away and say they did not care or were bad parents. We realize, with maturity, that they did so for our own good, to help us become better than we were. It is the same with God. Sometimes He has to take things away from us for our own good.
And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son” (Hebrews 12:5-6).
We can be like toddlers and throw a tantrum over it, or we can act with maturity and see what God is trying to teach us in the situation for what is our highest good. God may take away blessings He has granted us, or remove material stumbling blocks from our lives, placed there by Satan.
In either case, we need to understand that in all circumstances God is working out the best for us in whatever He gives and takes away, and cease complaining or feeling sorry for ourselves. Instead, we need to look for the lesson we are to learn from it and grow into a more mature Christian.
What Is the Context of Job 1:21 and "The Lord Gives and the Lord Takes Away"?
Nobody can deny that Western culture is steeped in materialism. We tend to think only in terms of physical comforts and desires, and the world around us reflects that. Immediate gratification of all desires is a strong focus whether your desire is food, drink, cars, boats, houses, sex, and so forth, it is all easily found and readily available.
Almost no limits are placed on satiating our physical appetites or material desires. One of the unfortunate side effects of this rampant materialism is the loss of the value of the individual. Employees are often easily replaced and ill-treated.
Foods are inorganic, chemically processed, and genetically modified, all to make them taste better and look better, even though they are bad for us. Men and women far too often view one another as convenient partners to satisfy the lusts of money, status, and sex and are easily tossed aside when they do not meet those ends.
In the end, people are nothing more than units of production and consumption, or pleasure objects, and when they cease to meet those ends are good for nothing and tossed on the trash heap. This is the worldview of materialism. It is dark, dystopic, and above all, sinful.
And yet, many who call themselves Christians fall right in line with this sort of thinking, even if only on a basic level. I have personally known Christians who pursue money, power, sex, status, and fame far more fervently than they do holiness of life, truth, and spiritual maturity.
Those people always focus on what they perceive as the Lord’s blessings, which may or may not be the case. What is often forgotten is that the Adversary too can provide material gain. Money, power, sex, status-all of these things we far too often think of as good or even blessings can be bestowed upon us by Satan.
When Jesus went into the wilderness and was tempted by Satan, He was tempted with the offer of these things (Matthew 4:1-11). And yet we never stop to think whether what we have is actually from Satan and a stumbling block to our spiritual lives.
Where Do Our Hearts Truly Lie with the Phrase "The Lord Gives and the Lord Takes Away"?
We have to face the fact that, at least here in the West anyway, we have some very bad ideas of God’s provision and blessings. When we think of the word blessings, generally we think of things like money, a nice home, a happy family, a new car, and so on.
We think in terms of material gain and wealth. If I get an unexpected raise, well then, the Lord has blessed me! When I win an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii, the Lord has really blessed me! Conversely, if I am let go from my job due to budget cuts, the Adversary is attacking me.
And if I fall ill before I can take that all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii? “Begone, Satan!” Shouted in my most righteous voice, of course. You see, we are accustomed to viewing anything we do not like, anything that is inconvenient or may hurt a little as coming from Satan, while everything we like and want comes from God.
Not only is this view materialistic and self-centered, but it is also downright biblically wrong. Sure, God wants the best for us. He sent His Son to die for us after all, so He has demonstrated how much He wants us to thrive.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16)
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full (John 10:10).
But we fail to recognize that, in seeking our highest good, God may have to take things away from us, punish us, correct our attitudes and behaviors (Proverbs 3:12), and this often makes us uncomfortable and unhappy precisely because we are such selfish creatures.
We view prayer as the drive-thru window of heaven, where we pull up and order whatever our little hearts desire, and God just fulfills that order on demand. I have news for you. God is not Ronald McDonald. He is not Santa Claus. He is the All-Knowing, Almighty Creator. If anyone knows what we really need, it is Him.
We are like stubborn brats in the toy department who whine about how much we need the latest fad toy, while our parents tell us no. After all, we have plenty of toys at home, most of which we do not even play with anymore. And sometimes, even after our parents buy us that shiny new toy, they take it away because we have behaved poorly.
For further reading:
What Does the Bible Say about the Lust of the Flesh?
Why Is it Better to Give Than to Receive?
How Has Jesus Come to Give Abundant Life?
What Does it Mean ‘Where Your Treasure Is There Your Heart Is Also’?
Does the Prosperity Gospel Seek God or Money?
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Vasyl Dolmatov
J. Davila-Ashcraft is an Anglican priest, Theologian, and Apologist, and holds a B.A. in Biblical Studies and Theology from God’s Bible College in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is a recognized authority on the topic of exorcism, and in that capacity has contributed to and/or appeared on programming for The National Geographic Channel, Discovery Channel, and CNN. He is the host of Expedition Truth, a one-hour apologetics radio talk show.
