11/22/06 - Thanksgiving Eve - Job 1:20-21

MAY THE NAME OF THE LORD BE PRAISED!
- He takes away
- He gives more

Thanksgiving is upon us once again. And as we celebrate this holiday tomorrow just like we’ve done every year before, we as Christians bring to mind all the things that we are thankful for. It’s only natural. We reflect on all of the blessings that the Lord has granted us in the past year and we look forward to all the blessings that he, Lord willing, will give us in the future. And although we do praise the Lord on other holidays, on Thanksgiving especially, the overriding theme of a Christian’s heart is “May the name of the Lord be praised!”
Thanksgiving is tomorrow. But what if you woke up tomorrow morning and your spouse did not. Would your first thought be, “May the name of the Lord be praised?” What if you rolled out of bed on Thanksgiving morning, but your child never did. Would you look up to heaven and say, “May the name of the Lord be praised?” What if you set the table for your family members tomorrow, but because of a car wreck those seats will forever remain empty. Would that prompt you to proclaim, “May the name of the Lord be praised?” I don’t think any of those situations would create a mindset of praise for the Lord. In fact, if those things did happen, it might just motivate you to think the opposite - to blame the Lord, to yell at the Lord, to question the Lord, “Why, Lord, why?” Many times when tragedy strikes, when pain happens, the farthest thing from your mind at that moment is the phrase, “May the name of the Lord be praised.”
So out of all the characters in Scripture, why were these the words of Job? If you remember Job was a Christian whose life couldn’t have been going any better. He was materially blessed beyond normal and he had a nice big family. Then in the span of only one minute’s time, he lost his job, he lost his savings, he lost his transportation, and he lost all of his children. “At this,” our text says, “Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.’” Job just lost everything. He lost everything he owned and each and every one of his children. And so what does he do? He falls to his knees in worship and says, “May the name of the Lord be praised!” How could Job possibly have said those words in the immediate aftermath of such a terrible tragedy? How could he look up to heaven and actually thank the Lord for what had just happened? Job could say those words because he was a Christian. And Job understood something that we sometimes forget: the Lord takes away, but the Lord also gives us more. And no matter what happens, whether he is giving or taking away, the Lord is always in control - and so his name can always be praised.
Sometimes we are in a similar situation as Job was at certain points in our lives. You and I might not be as materially blessed as Job was, but we do receive countless blessings every day from our Father, don’t we? There are so many of them in so many different aspects of our lives that it’d be impossible to name them all. In a way it is easy for us to say, “May the name of the Lord be praised” because we have so much to praise him about. So we are blessed just as Job was. But how long do you think you’ll have those blessings before they’re taken away? You don’t know. I don’t know. Whatever God has given us he can just as easily take away and he very well might! If it would be better for you to have blessings taken away, the Lord will not hesitate to do it! He will take blessings away for your good! So whatever a day might bring, whether you have many blessings or you have few, whether blessings are being poured out upon you or being ripped away, it is all according to God’s good and perfect will. It may be a strange thing to think of, but when God takes blessings away, that’s a blessing. If you consider a blessing anything the Lord does for your good, then when he takes blessings away it is a blessing! So anything and everything that happens - whether you think it is good or bad at the time - should motivate you to say, “May the name of the Lord be praised!”
Even pain. When you are physically hurting, when your body does not function and does not move like it used to, praise the Lord! He might not have exactly caused you to suffer, but he will use that for your good, you can be sure of that because that’s a promise from God. Maybe to keep you humble. Maybe to remind you of who is in control. Maybe to force you to rely on him and not yourself. Who knows? There are many ways the Lord can work physical pain out for your good.
When you are emotionally and psychologically in pain. When you feel that you can’t handle a person or a situation or a day at the moment, praise the Lord! He may not have personally afflicted you with this stress and anxiety, but he will work it out for your good. Maybe to slow you down. Maybe to help you rethink your priorities. Maybe to force you to rely on him and not yourself. Who knows? There are many ways the Lord can work out strain and tension for the good of those who love him. In any sort of pain or trouble the Lord is always in control. So there is no reason not to say, “May the name of the Lord be praised!”
I have underlined the last word at the end of verse 20 in my Bible because he amazes me every time I read it. “Then he fell to the ground in worship.” Job worshiped the Lord in the midst of pain! His children had just been ripped away from him without giving him a chance to even say goodbye. Why did he worship the Lord? Because he knew it was for his good. He knew the Lord was in control even if he didn’t understand it himself at the time. Job got it. Job understood. Do we? The Lord is using physical pain for your good and you complain to him about it! The Lord is using emotional stress for your good and you question him about it! The Lord is ripping away blessings from you to bring you closer to him and you yell at him for it! Throughout our lives we have been very ungrateful for what the Lord has done, not realizing that in everything the name of the Lord should be praised. That’s why Job fell to the ground in worship. And that’s why we can do the same. A valid prayer in any troublesome situation might very well be, “Lord, thank you. I don’t understand why you are doing the things you are doing right now, but I know you love me. I know you will take care of me. I know you are always in control. May your name be praised. Amen.”
Also remember that the Lord isn’t going to leave you empty handed. He takes away, but he gives more. And I’m not necessarily talking about physical blessings - although he definitely blesses us with material things above and beyond what we need. Just think of Job and how he was blessed twice as much at the end of his life than he was at the beginning. But I don’t want to focus tonight on the earthly blessings, but on the spiritual. Because he may take away your health, he may take away your children, he may take away your spouse, but he will never take away your forgiveness. In fact, he gives you more! Every time you sin, he gives you forgiveness again. Every time you stain that white robe he placed on your shoulders, he gives you forgiveness again - he cleanses it again in his own blood. Every time you complain or question him or yell at him instead of giving him thanks, he gives you forgiveness again. His forgiveness is never ending. It will never run out. And he will never take it away.
And the same goes for all the blessings of your salvation. No matter what you have or don’t have on this earth - you really have everything that matters. You have eternal life. That’s the ultimate blessing. That’s the ultimate goal. And that will never be taken away. You could go through this life experiencing pain and agony and suffering like no one else has before. But the blessing of eternal life is still yours. The Lord has blessed you with adoption. The Lord has blessed you with forgiveness. The Lord has blessed you with the gift of faith. The Lord has blessed you with a heavenly home forever with him. These things God gives you in overabundance. And these things will never be taken away! May the name of the Lord be praised!
And if that means the Lord has to allow you to suffer more pain to keep you by his side, then that’s the way it’s going to be. I think you’ll find that whenever you are sick or going through troubles or dealing with frustrations - you pray more, don’t you? You rely on God more, right? When I stumble or run into road blocks or am knocked down by a sickness of some kind, I go to the Lord. I pray more. I read the Bible more. I rely on him more. And I think that happens with any Christian. The more trouble you have, the more you go to the Lord - in prayer and in his Word. So why is it a wonder that you suffer in this life? Why is it a wonder that God allows you to go through all this pain? He wants you to rely on him. He wants you to always be at his side and not stray away. And he will do whatever it takes to keep you in the true faith until the day you meet him in Paradise.
Thanksgiving is tomorrow. And as you sit down and pray, or as you sit down to reflect on the blessings this past year, yes, thank the Lord for the material blessings he has given you. It is a good thing to do. It’s a God-pleasing thing to do. And we should do it. But also remember to praise him for what he did during the pain and the trouble and the times that weren’t so pleasant. Because remember: what he did for you during those times are blessing too. They were blessings to preserve the greatest blessings of all. All the blessings won by his death and resurrection. Blessings that are all yours. Blessings that will never be taken away. May the name of the Lord be praised!
Amen.

“God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.” - Philippians 4:19-20