Job 1:20-21 NIV
[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.”
Job is the ultimate example of praising God and not blaming him for his misfortunes. Job had just learned that all of his flocks, all his servants, his wife and his children had been destroyed. He still refuses to blame God. His friends will badger him for days trying to convince him to turn his back on God but he resists and refuses. There may be some among you who have suffered much in this world, all have suffered some. What was your response? I have lost jobs because of the lies of others. I have lost parents, grandparents, a child and grandchildren. I have been poor and dependent on the generosity of others. I, like you, know what it means to suffer. Now, I'm no Job and I admit I wasn't too happy with God. If you are reading this, then you, too, haven't turned your back on God either. God does not bring about our misfortunes and yet so many people believe that either God does it, or that there is no God. I admit that I wouldn't want to believe in a God who caused us pain. It would have been easier for the people of Job's time to believe that God was behind Job's problems because that was what the people believed of their gods who demanded constant sacrifices to appease them. They also believed that those who suffered must have done something to offend the gods, or God. We can sometimes be guilty of that kind of thinking as well. God is good, all the time and all the time God is good. This is one of the favorite sayings of many of my friends. Bad things happen to us just as they did to Job. May we have the same attitude as Job and be thankful that God brings us through it.