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Fear Not: Loss

Trusting in the God who is always faithful

We work hard. We work hard to feed our families, to do our jobs well, to raise our children with good manners and good morals, to take care of our parents, to get just a little in savings, to plan for retirement knowing one day our bodies will start to slow down. We work hard for our neighbors, for our communities, for those who have needs we can help with. And one day, when the sun is bright, and the stock market is up, we might be tempted to pat ourselves on the back and think ‘I’ve got this!’

But we don’t “got this”, do we? We are all one rainy day, one phone call, one pandemic away from rock bottom. Do you know what has a rock bottom? A pit. 

We build houses, and skyscrapers, and businesses, and programs, and legacies, and lives, and yet the pit mocks us. It could all be gone in a second. How do we go on?

“… my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.” (Lamentations 3:20-22)

Verse 26 goes on to say "…it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord."

A pit is a pretty good place to sit quietly. It’s also terrible, and it’s heartbreaking, but as we sit in the quiet, we realize we are not forgotten. This is not the end. A hand reaches out. God is faithful in the midst of our loss.

“I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.” (Psalm 40:1-2)

Our feet are once again on solid ground, but we never forget who pulled us up. We are changed. We are humbled. We go back to work, but we hold it all more loosely. As we go, hopefully, we look more like Jesus. We remember that it is God who works in us to fulfill His good purpose. None of it is ours. It never was.  

Today as you read, remember the faithfulness of God in your life.