When God Takes the Good

The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.
Job 1:21

The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. I’m so grateful for everything He’s given to me. It’s easy to bless His Name when you’re hashtag #blessed. It’s easy to bless His Name when he’s taking out poisonous people and destructive situations. But it’s a whole lot harder to give Him praise when He’s taking away your good stuff.

He took good people. He took my home. He took my money. He just LET those things be taken away from me!

He let me hurt. He let me suffer. He let me beg Him daily to take away the pain and heal my hopeless situation.

BUT GOD.

Then He gave me freedom. And He showed me my reason to live—HIM. He restored my practically nonexistent relationship with Him. He provided financially abundantly, more than I’d ever experienced before. He replaced the old and lost with new and better. He opened the doors I thought were shut to me forever. He gave me understanding of His love and power. He taught me the power of my prayers. He healed me. He restored my love and trust.

The Lord gives. The Lord takes away. He takes away not only the things that are bad, the things that keep us from Him. But He also takes the good things that He wants to replace with better things.

In the moment, and even later on, I may not understand, but I do know:

My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are my ways higher than your ways
And my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8-9

He knows the why behind the goodbye. He has a plan for your future. And it’s far greater than you can ever imagine.

Thank you, Lord, for removing things in my life so You could be glorified all the more when You restore and pour out your blessings abundantly.

This song comes to mind when I think of the things I’ve lost and the things I have to gain! Better days are ahead of me!