Reading: Job 1:20-21, 20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 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."
If there was anyone in history that understood the importance of holding on to things loosely it was job. In a moment everything was gone. But, his hope, his security, his foundation was not easily shaken. He understood that we have nothing when we are born and nothing when we depart. So, everything we have is provided by God. The problem comes when the possessions begin to own us, when the car drives us, figuratively speaking. Stuff never owned Job, that’s heroic. I heard a great story from a pastor who traveled across country where he was scheduled to speak. He had forgotten it was at a nice fancy restaurant, he failed to include a nice suit. He realized it toward the afternoon when the hour was getting late. Since his motel was located near a funeral home, he though, for just one evening, the funeral director might be willing to loan him a suit, one that would later be used on a cadaver. He said he went over and bargained with the director to use the suit for just one night. Then he said, “That evening, as I was addressing all the people, I did what I usually do. I reached up to put my hand in my pocket. I couldn’t. Right then I learned that cadaver suits have no pockets.” It drove home the idea that we don’t take anything with us.
What are you holding onto too tightly? What would you not be willing to do without?
What are you willing to give God today that you have been holding onto?
Challenge: Live today with the same value that Job placed on material possessions and maintain that no matter what happens, “the name of the Lord be praised”
REVIEW
What were able to give God today that you had been holding onto?
How did this impact your day and the value that you placed on the things around you?
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