Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.
– Job 1:20–21
This is one of the most remarkable pictures of worship and confessions of faith in all the Bible. If you know the story of Job, he’s just heard devastating news about how not only his possessions and riches being totally taken away from him, everything he had, but everyone he loved. He’s just heard that all of his children in an instant have died. All of them. Like I know there’s some of you listening right now who know the agony of losing one child. The thought of losing all of your children in an instant. And his wife, as we find out in the next chapter, is telling him to curse God.
Job 1:20–21 is an image of worship amid suffering.
Job has lost everything. Then he bows down on his face in worship and says, “the Lord gave and the Lord is taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord”. And I read this, and I pray that amidst whatever loss I might experience in this world, that God would grant me grace to say in that moment, “the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord”. And I want to pray for this over those who have experienced loss, maybe recently.
I think of different people coming to my own mind right now. People I love who have experienced deep loss. And I, alongside them, have experienced loss. But not in the depth that they’ve experienced. So God, we praise you. We praise you for how you give. God, I just think of all the different ways I have to praise you today. For the ways you have given to me, the ways you’re giving to me right now. And for each of us, God, we pray that you would help us to give thanks in all circumstances for all the ways you are giving to us, have given to us.
Job 1:20–21 reminds us that God gives even as he takes away.
Even as I think about loss in my life. My dad suddenly going to be with you through a heart attack. God, I praise you for giving me my dad. I praise you for the gift that he was and in many ways still is in my life. Thank you for that gift. God, we praise you for all your gifts. And so we pray that you would help us to trust you when those gifts you take away.
God, help us to see you as the Giver of those gifts in the first place. And to remember that we still have you, the Giver of those gifts. And help us to remember that even when you take away, you do not stop giving. You give sufficient grace, mercy, strength, and help for us. Your resources are infinite, and you are the Giver of every good gift. And you still give good gifts even when good gifts are taken away.
This verse challenges us to trust God when he takes away good things
And so we bless your name. We bless your name as the Giver of all good gifts. We bless your name as the giver of eternal life. So that loss in this world is not the end. We praise you, Jesus. We bless your name as the Resurrection and the Life so that all who believe in you will not die, but will live forever and us with them forever. Lord, we praise you for the hope we have in you, and the strength we find, and the hope we have in you, for the joy we find, and the hope we have in you, for the grace and mercy to persevere through hard days because of the hope we have in you.
We bless your name for all of these things, and we pray that no matter what might happen to us today or tomorrow… Whatever devastating news we might hear at any point in our lives… God, we pray for the grace you gave to Job in Job 1:20–21 to be ours, to be able to fall on our faces in worship and say, “the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord”.
And God, we pray that you’d help us to spread this hope that we have in your Name, the glory of your Name, the One who has conquered sin and suffering and death in this world.
Prayer for the Hazara People
God, we pray for the Hazara people of Afghanistan for millions of Muslim Hazara who don’t know this hope that’s found in you, Jesus, who don’t know you as the resurrection and the life. God, we pray that Hazaras would be reached with the good news of your grace and help us to live today for the spread of the gospel to the peoples of the world, like the Hazara, that they might know you as the Lord who saves and satisfies forever.
No matter what hardship and pain and suffering and loss this world may bring us all glory be to your Name. Jesus, we bless your name, Lord God, for the hope, the joy, the peace, and the everlasting life we have in you, especially when we experience loss in this world. In Jesus’ name, we pray all these things according to your Word in Job 1:20–21. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder of Radical, an organization that makes Jesus known among the nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Don’t Hold Back, and How to Read the Bible.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
