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"RISING ABOVE TRAGEDIES" "Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." (Job 1:20-21)The Holy Spirit gives us a wonderful example of faith in God when we're suffering a great loss. Despite the severe trials, Job's trust in God shines through, serving as a powerful reminder that faith is not about circumstances, but the acceptance concerning God's will. As Christians, we are challenged to examine our faith in light of Job's example to rise above any tragedy we face and find peace.Those first 3 words in verse 20 "Then Job arose" tells us plenty about the character of this man. Back in verse 8 of this same chapter, God posed a question to Satan one day concerning Job saying, "...Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?"Now, the Lord certainly knew the stuff that His servant Job was made of, didn't He? We'll find over and over again in the Scriptures where the Lord loves to acknowledge those who serve and trust Him when tragedies occur. But that nasty ole devil with his fault-finding, mischief-making, lying lips would rather run around accusing them (Revelation 12:10). Did Job wallow in his misery and blame God? No! He arose, hit the ground, and worshipped Him (verse 20). Yes, when we read Job's response. we see that God was correct in His assessment of Job.It's hard to picture in our minds all the tragedies which befell Job that day. To be sure, many of us have had at least one thing that was dear to our hearts taken away or lost. Losing someone we love, or losing something we value like our health, or possessions we've worked hard for, can be very devastating. But Job's greatest loss was certainly that of his children. To lose a loved one in such a tragic manner would be worse than any of us could imagine. Yet, I've read on Facebook many times over where some of you good folks have experienced such a heart-breaking tragedy in the past.Job's statement in verse 21 is often quoted at funerals but it's one that should be considered every day of our life. Job said, "...Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." You and I came into this world without the material things which the Lord has blessed us with and mark it down, we'll leave this world without them. I don't know about you, but I've never seen a U-Haul Trailer hitched to a hearse headed for the cemetery. If we leave this world before Christ returns for us, the only thing we'll leave with is the body we arrived in and for all of us reading this. that body will no doubt be somewhat wider and a whole lot taller.If a loved one dies before us, we will meet them again one glorious day, but our earthly treasures will go to someone else. You know, when we come to the realization of the little value of earthly things, our focus becomes much clearer on the value of eternal truth.Friends, let's learn from Job when tragedies come our way. Be it losing a beloved member of our family we cherish, or the material fruits of our labor, may it be said of us, "Then he/she arose."