Christ in our losses

The greater the blessing we've had in our life the greater we feel its loss.

 Have you noticed that? When people we love have passed on or are far away we feel the loss. When relationships we cherish end, we grieve. When we fight to maintain material blessings we have taken for granted we are stressed. When our health is gone, we certainly mourn it. The greater the blessing, the more we feel the loss when it's gone.

Where does Jesus come in? Where does our faith come in? It is more than just hope that a blessing can be restored or a greater blessing will come. Our faith is more than trusting God to heal our wounds.

Our faith stands regardless of gains or losses, hard times or "good times". 

Two areas can be addressed: what we DO in times of loss and then how we emotionally/mentally DEAL with it in the Lord.

What does a Christian DO in times of loss? We mourn. That is healthy. But then what else do we do? A wonderful biblical example is a heartbreaking situation the prophet Ezekiel went through.

Let's look at the Scripture: The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, behold, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you at a stroke;..... Bind on your turban, and put your shoes on your feet; do not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.”So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died. And on the next morning I did as I was commanded. (Ezekiel 24:15-18 selected ESV)

In the midst of unexpected heartbreak, Ezekiel went on. He continued to live and do the Lord's work. He continued to carry our the Lord's commands, and we should too. If we have breath, we are here for a purpose. We are ambassadors of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20) and we must continue to do His work. There is a practical aspect in this as well. Staying busy helps depression - so keep working for Christ!

How does our heart deal with loss? Again, let's look to Scripture's example: What did David do after his firstborn son died?

 But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David understood that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead.” Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped (2 Samuel 12:19-21a ESV)

David worshiped God anyway. There are times we are called to actively demonstrate that we love the giver of all gifts more than the gifts themselves. This is part of faith. 

How should our hearts deal with loss?

1. Know that glory is ahead! Scripture tells us that if we share in Christ's sufferings we will share in His glory. (Romans 8:17)

2. Know that our suffering is joined to Christ's and we will have suffering in our lives.  (1 Peter 2:21, 2 Timothy 2:3, Colossians 1:24)

3. Finally, we can rest knowing that our suffering is not for nothing. 
We  have God's promise:  "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." -Romans 8:28