²¹ And he said:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked shall I return there.
The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

I mentioned Job in a recent devotion, which got me thinking about our scripture today. It can be one of the more difficult scriptures for us to fully understand and accept.

We bring nothing into this world and we will take nothing with us. At least nothing physical. Spiritually we will take with us our works. Good and bad, we will take them all before the White Throne and have to answer for them. This, we should consider the works of our hands (and our minds), we will have much to answer for. Luckily, we have Jesus who paid for our sins to stand with us as we give account and we will see just how much He atoned in our place.

The latter part reminds us also that everything this side of heaven may be temporary. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Nothing that we have is truly ours. We think it is, we work for it, we save for it, we wait for it, but in the end we may or may not be allowed to keep whatever it is. God is not cruel, He wants us to have the things we want, like a loving Father wants for His beloved children.

Reflect on: This scripture. Repeat it often today, let it sink in. Then, let it inform your life moving forward.