Blessed Be His Name

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 1:21 ESV)

Recently I watched a sermon online by Pastor Britt Merrick down here in Southern California that moved me to these thoughts. His five year-old daughter Daisy was diagnosed with stage three cancer nearly a year ago, having a tumor the size of a football in her abdomen. The sermon was from the week following the horrific discovery of the tumor, in which he announced to the congregation the news and continued to teach the Bible in light of how we as Christians should react to such events in life.

It's not often that we think about all of tragedies and deaths that occur in our world daily. In all honesty, most of our thoughts are consumed by ourselves: what we're going to eat for lunch, when is my next deadline, what am I going to do this weekend. We are all guilty of this. Watching this sermon made me think about life and others around me though. So i ask not only what do we do as Christians when the doctor says to us, "your five year old has cancer," but what do we do when we discover another person's five year-old has cancer? 

Some may ask, 'Why would God do this if He is so good and just?' Some may begin to doubt their faith. Some even contemplate the existence of God. The largest thing that stood out in this sermon that I viewed was that Merrick did none of those. A man is brought to the lowest of low points in such a circumstance, but he said it was his knowledge of scripture that kept him from asking "why." God gives us in His Word the answers to nearly all of our questions in life, we just need to pray and seek them!

Psalm 119:71 says that it is good that we are afflicted so we may learn the statutes of God. Having God-given faith, we can overcome circumstances in which we have stumbled into the Valley of Death. And through these afflictions we learn; we learn more of ourselves and character but most importantly of God who is good and who helps us in all things. Also, God says in Isaiah 55:8-9 that His ways and thoughts are higher than ours. Who are we, created beings, to say that God is wrong or unjust, for we can not even begin to fathom His ways or reasoning.

The best characteristic example of this faith in times of distress and sorrow is Job. Job had everything taken from him, all allowed by God, but he proclaims this wonderful thing: "The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." We may not understand why God does everything that He does, why innocent are murdered, babies die, and children get cancer, but we know the Lord gives and takes away, so blessed be His name. His thoughts are light years higher than any of ours and I have faith that He is good and just. I have faith that his plans are greater than mine and I trust that His ways are good and his plans better than mine.

Daisy's much better and is now tumor free!

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

(Philippians 4:4-7 ESV)

Click here to read and follow more of Daisy's story.
Click here to watch the sermon prior to the discovery of Daisy's illness.