“Dr. Dixie, we’ve experienced a tragic death in our family. We’ve repeatedly heard various versions of, “The Lord gives and takes away. His ways are beyond our understanding. We shouldn’t question His plans.” I know people intend to comfort us, but that statement is like putting a knife in and twisting it! Is God really responsible? Who can we trust, if God takes our loved ones away from us?”
This statement is repeated simply because people feel helpless in tragedy. They don’t know what to say, and often don’t have accurate understanding of what the Bible says. Comfort is the intent, but because it implies “God kills people”, it prompts despair instead.
Job was a wealthy man from Uz; a righteous, powerful man of integrity. Job experienced horrific tragedy: in one day, his livestock was stolen; his many servants were killed; and all ten adult children, perhaps with their families, died when a storm destroyed the house where they had gathered.
Job 1:20-22 (HCSB): Then Job…tore his robe and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped, saying: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will leave… The Lord gives; the Lord takes away. Praise the name of the Lord.” In all this, Job did not sin or blame God for anything. Job chose to praise God, no matter what, but it appears that he believed God was the cause of loss since God didn’t stop it from happening. That’s a common misunderstanding in our time as well: “God can do anything. He could stop it if He wanted to…” We need to answer these questions: Is God the cause of pain and loss?
Does God really give, then take back?
Do we study the life of Jesus, Who said, “the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy…I came to give life abundantly…anyone who has seen Me, has seen the Father…I and the Father are one” (John 14:9; John 10:10, 30)?
Or do we study Job’s words, who had only heard of God, but didn’t actually know him, and said, “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand…” (Job 42:3, 5).
Jesus is the place to look for an accurate understanding of God’s character, not Job, because Jesus “is the sole expression of God’s glory…He is the perfect…image of God’s nature, maintaining, and guiding…the universe by His mighty word of power” (Hebrews 1:3 Amplified). Jesus came to reveal God, the extraordinary Giver, Who never takes back His gifts (Romans 11:29).
(Numbers 23:19; James 1:17, Amplified) “God is not a man, that He should tell or act a lie…that He should feel repentance for what He has promised. Has He said and shall He not do it? Every good and perfect gift is…coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
The sin of Adam brought sickness, tragedy and death into God’s perfectly designed universe. God is bringing to completion His plan to eradicate all sin, and its effects. Meanwhile, God promises that He will always bring benefit out of any and every situation, for those who love Him (Romans 8:28).
Jesus came to be our Friend (John 15:15); take away the sin of the world (John 1:29); destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8); and carry our worry and anxiety (1 Peter 5:7). He is the exact reflection of God, who is the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3).
Death is our final enemy in this life, and it is death that takes us from this life. But God even works death for the good of those who love Him—death takes us into His Presence.
Infinite Grace Ministries is a Biblical Guidance ministry that teaches how to become free from the wrong thinking we’ve all absorbed from the world around us. Call 580-774-2884 to begin your journey to freedom today!
