What if You Lose Everything?

What if you lose everything?

We have seen many things happen in this world where people's possessions were taken. Gone. Swept away.

I think I would be devastated, only because I would wonder where we were supposed to go.

I'm reading a book by Elisabeth Elliot, and in this book, she tells a story of some missionaries in China losing everything they owned due to theft.

This might be the most devastating part. It wasn't a natural disaster. These were people. People walked in and took everything.

This changes all the factors for me.

With a natural disaster, there's nothing you can do and no one to blame. But with theft or robbery, there's most likely a face we can put with what happened.

We can move on and adapt when there is no one to blame, right?

It's harder when we know someone purposefully did something.

Getting back to the story, the wife was devastated, and the husband basically said, "It's okay. It's just stuff."

Jesus tells us that following Him requires a willingness to leave everything behind.

In one account, He tells a man who wants to follow Him that he must put following Jesus first, even above returning to bury his father.

We sometimes allow things and people to hold us back because following Jesus and walking in what He's called us to do might be more difficult than what we had planned.

The disciples left behind their familiar lives and livelihoods to follow Jesus.

Matthew 16:24 says, “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.’”

Taking up our cross means denying ourselves and being willing to follow Jesus, whatever the cost.

We like our stuff. It's comforting, and we aren't always called to literally give up everything to follow Jesus. But the principle is about the condition of our hearts and what we're willing to surrender.

Matthew 6:21 says, “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”

This is the point. If our desire is focused more on our possessions than on following the Lord, then we might have a problem.

Twice in our marriage, we have been faced with difficult choices. Both times, it almost came down to losing a lot—our vehicles and our house.

Can you imagine the thoughts running through my mind?

"If we don't have a house, where do we stay?"

"If we don't have a vehicle, how do we get to a job?"

"If we can't get to a job, how do we buy food and take care of our family?"

It can go on and on.

The first time, there was a learning curve when it came to trusting God.

The second time, it came a little easier, but that doesn't mean the questions weren't still there.

Through it all, God was teaching us obedience. He wanted our attention on Him. He wanted us to understand that everything belongs to Him, that He provides, and that He is in control.

When we became willing to surrender everything to God and trust Him fully, our thoughts and perspectives began to change.

We went from questioning everything and trying to figure it all out to trusting God and knowing that He would provide what we needed in His timing.

And we experienced that provision.

One time, we had no money for groceries, and I was praying for provision. I went outside, and as I was walking around, I saw money on the ground. $100, to be exact. I asked our neighbors if they had lost it, but no one had.

We saw that as a miracle from God, providing a way for us to feed our little ones.

What a blessing!

Sometimes it's through the loss of possessions and even conveniences that we learn what is most important.

When we're expecting a hurricane here in Houston, we prepare because we have time to do so. But sometimes that's not the case.

And sometimes, even all the preparing in the world doesn't change what happens.

The Bible talks about our foundation. Jesus tells us not to build our house on sand because it can be washed away, but to build on rock.

This is the best way to prepare—build our foundation on the rock of Jesus.

That way, no matter what comes our way, we can stand firm and confident in the One who can carry us through.

1 Peter 5:10 -11 says, “In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. All power to him forever! Amen.”

God doesn't tell us that once we're saved, it will be smooth sailing.

Nope.

In fact, as the Scripture above reminds us, we will experience suffering. But God can use those difficult seasons to strengthen our faith and teach us to rely more fully on Him.

In the Old Testament, God often allowed the Israelites to walk through trials that tested their hearts.

Deuteronomy 8:2-3 says, “Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands. Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”

He wanted them to remember where their help came from and understand that all they had was not because of their own righteousness, but because of His faithfulness, love, and provision.

When you find yourself in a season of loss, remember that God is right there with you.

He is walking with you, and He will give you the strength you need.

Keep your heart focused on Him, even when you don't know what comes next.

The things we own can be lost, damaged, or taken away, but God's faithfulness is not something this world can take from us.

James 1:17 – “Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens.”

Everything good we have is a gift from God.

And even when the things around us change, the One who provides for us remains the same.