What to do if God takes away something dear to you?
(i) Bless His Holy Name
“…The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.” (Job 1:21)
(ii) Thank Him for it (part of ‘every thing’) for that also means fulfilling “God’s Will”
“in every thing give thanks, for this [is] the will of God in Christ Jesus in regard to you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
What’s the reason?
(1) It may be because God might *test* you first at it to perhaps *restore* that “same” thing or with something else which is ‘better for you’ (relatively) in the future (on earth itself):
“The LORD restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the LORD increased all that Job had twofold.” (Job 42:10)
(2) God may allow the test so that if you handle it ‘rightly’, afterlife rewards await:
“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.” (James 1:12)
P/S:
Yes, God Himself does NOT tempt us with ‘evil’ but if we’re faced with ‘evil situations being enticed by our own desires’, He gives us a ‘chance’ to ‘repent and do rightly’ to obtain those rewards in (1) & (2) too which includes such scenarios too, I believe.
“When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.” (James 1:13 – 14)
Remember, always ‘speak truth’ from ‘your heart’ instead of lying or putting a ‘false impression’ at any point of time (even though it’ll reflect bad on you but it’s the truth —> best is, ‘being truthful in all the right way’):
“…and speaketh the truth in his heart.” (Psalm 15:2)
Yup, ‘best’ is to ‘speak the truth in your heart’ plus doing the “right acts too” (fully):
“He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.” (Psalm 15:2)
In the ‘end’, even after ‘testing’ (or giving it a try), we must hold fast to the ‘good only’:
“Test all things, and hold firmly that which is good.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21)
The most important thing is to “NEVER” deny the Lord Who ‘Saved you’ (especially to follow after vain traditions of men):
“False prophets were among God’s people [in the past], as false teachers will be among you. They will secretly bring in their own destructive teachings. They will deny the Lord, who has bought them, and they will bring themselves swift destruction.” (2 Peter 2:1)
and this classic:
“Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:9 – 10)
Lastly, remember that the *Devil* cannot teach such “Perfect Good” but only by “His Holy Spirit” (the ‘evidence’ of Truth) but the only question remaining is, “how much do we wish to obey Him in Truth?”
