Job 1:21b - “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the Name of the Lord.” Today’s Scripture is the famous response given by Job after he learned that he had just lost all of his wealth and all of his children. Let that sink in for a moment. . . Beyond devastating. You know what Job doesn’t say? “The Lord gave and the Devil has taken away.” Does the Devil “take”? Absolutely. Jesus said that the only things the Devil does are “kill, steal, and destroy” (John 10:10). So why did Job say what he did? Because Job realized that nothing happens outside of God’s control. All that comes to us which we consider “good” in our lives is under God’s control. We have no problem with that. But when the “bad” comes and we realize that God had to first sign off on it, what do we do with that? I don’t know what you do, but when the “hard” sucker-punches me out of nowhere and I have to come to grips with the fact that God gave it a green light, I struggle, I wrestle, I cry, I get angry. Yes, I know all of the verses and the answers we give. And yes, Romans 8:28 is still wonderfully true. But when I hurt, Satan tries to use those promises against me and against God. “Really?”, he whispers. “Does any of this look or feel or appear good to you? You simply can’t trust God’s Word. It sure isn’t working for you this time.” When the pain is so real, Satan’s lies sure feel true. So, what do I do? Through the heart-break, I drag myself back to God’s Word, the only place where I know I can find truth that isn’t bound by time or by temporary circumstances or by my raw emotions. And there I find the God Who, because of His perfect righteous character, is unable to act wrong towards me. Not just that He won’t - but that He can’t. He can’t! I meditate on that. I anchor what’s left of my broken faith to that reality. And I find that it’s enough. . . for today. Tomorrow I’ll do it again. And so it goes. And in the midst of pouring out my questions, my hurt, my frustration, my grief, I remember. I remember God’s inability to do me wrong. This truth brings comfort and fuels my trust. And I remember that this truth guides His sovereign control - in the good and in the awful. When people are for me and when I get brutally canceled. When things seem to make sense and when life makes no sense. “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the Name of the Lord.” So if you are in a tough place and Satan is directing your scathing gaze at God, please speak this truth to your heart as long as it takes: the Devil is a liar, God is still in control, He loves you deeply, and He will never do you wrong. Believe me, I do know how hard it is. But your story isn’t over and those hard things won’t last forever. So can I gently encourage you to do what has helped me in desperate times. Drag yourself to God’s Word and just sit with Him. He sees. He knows. He cares. He understands. And He’ll take it from there.