Rising Above Loss

Written by Jim Penner

"The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD." -Job 1:22

In the first chapter of the book of Job, a messenger brings distressing news that someone had stolen Job's herd of five hundred oxen and killed the servants tending to them. Then another messenger hurries in to tell him that fire from the heavens just burned up his herd of seven thousand sheep! Still another messenger ran in to announce that thieves had stolen his herd of three thousand camels. Then the most horrific news of all came to the already devastated Job, that his seven sons and three daughters were dead. A distraught Job tore his robe, shaved his head, and then fell to his knees in worship, saying, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord!"

God Delays

On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days (John 11:17).

Mary and Martha were very close to Jesus. The Bible says Jesus loved Mary, Martha and Lazarus. Mary was the woman who came and poured expensive perfume on Jesus and the disciples rebuked her. 

Lazarus, Mary and Martha's brother, had become terminally ill. Jesus was away in Jerusalem during the time of Lazarus' illness. After Jesus heard the news that Lazarus was ill, instead of running to the aid of Mary and Martha, Jesus waited two days. Lazarus died and was placed in a tomb. His response to the news was: "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it" (John 11:4). Jesus had to look beyond Mary and Martha's current grief in order to fulfill God's purpose for this sickness.

"When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home" (John 11:20-22). Mary was in deep mourning over the death of her brother. When she finally went to see Jesus, she immediately cried out to Him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."

The Blessing No One Wants Matthew 5:4

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). 

This is one of the strangest statements in the Bible. It is a paradox and a mystery. “Blessed are those who mourn,” said Jesus. Happy are the sad! What do these strange words mean? Who are the mourners, why are they sad, and how are they comforted?

The Mystery of Human Suffering

Most of us know about Jim Elliot, the missionary martyr who died in Ecuador in January 1956 when he and four other missionaries were killed by the Auca Indians (now called the Waoranis). The story made headlines around the world and inspired books, films, and generations of Christian missionaries. His wife Elizabeth told the story in several books, including the bestselling Through Gates of Splendor. More than a half-century later, we still repeat Jim Elliot’s famous words, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." 

Jim Elliot’s story gripped the evangelical world, making him arguably the most famous missionary of the 20^th century. What most people don’t know is that he had an older brother who went to Peru as a missionary in 1949. During his 62 years on the field, Bert Elliot established 150 churches. He died in Trujillo, Peru on February 17, 2012 at the age of 87. When Randy Alcorn interviewed him in 2006, Bert described his younger brother this way: