If I Lose Everything, Yet...

 I just finished reading a phenomenal book on making sense of tragedy in your life - Paul David Tripp's Suffering: Gospel Hope When Life Doesn't Make Sense and, believe me, I've needed some "gospel hope" of late...because life hasn't made sense, and the suffering has piled high. It was definitely the perfect time to dig into this book and be reminded of the unshakable truths that hold firm when everything around you is falling apart. 

Toward the end of the book, I stumbled upon a scriptural passage that was quoted, and a mind-blowing truth jumped out at me as I read: 

'Though the fig tree should not blossom,

nor fruit be on the vines,

the produce of the olive fail

and the fields yield no food,

the flock be cut off from the fold

and there be no herd in the stalls,

yet will I rejoice in the Lord;

I will take joy in the God of my salvation...'

(Habakkuk 3:17-18)

As the author pointed out, in context, this passage was written at a time when the economic system of the Jews was agriculturally based. If all of the things described in these verses were to come to pass, there would be a complete national disaster similar to our own Great Depression in the 1930s. People would literally lose everything. 

But the prophet states here that, even that wouldn't be enough to cause him to lose hope. 

Hope is a choice. Gospel-centered, God-breathed hope cannot be stifled. Cannot be extinguished. Because the "yet" is an act of defiant joy. Because real joy stems not from your circumstances but from the Spirit placed within you. 

I realized how much Scripture uses the words "but," "yet," and "still." All of which imply a contrasting thought. A choice. When you read the Psalms, the Epistles... you see weak souls making the decision to believe in spite of what is happening around them. You see hearts that are spent of their own strength choosing to tap into the grace given to them and to find reasons to praise and bless God no matter the lot that has been handed to them. You see people finding purpose in their pain and hope for their future...because God never leaves. 

You deal the Enemy a great blow every time you face your hardships and still find reason to say, 'It is well with my soul.' Faith always overrides fear. Because He who is with you is always greater. 

In recent weeks, I've had to keep reminding myself of this. To keep preaching truth to my struggling soul and embracing the hard things as instruments of His hidden grace. To keep praying the Gospel deep into myself and to not let doubt gain a foothold. Because there have been some seriously hard days of late. But somehow, grace is still winning. And I'm still hoping. 

What would it look like in your life if you told yourself this every time things look bleak:

If I lose everything, yet I will rejoice! 

What would it mean for you if you learned to welcome suffering as an opportunity to thank God instead of to turn away from Him? How would it change your day-to-day life if you began to make everything...even the tough things...a chance for worship and praise? 

Because that's the actual reality for a Christian. This world is not our final home. And Christ promised us that we would have our share of suffering and trouble. But He also promised us Himself. He also promised us hope. He promised us peace. And, because of that, He will not let our tragedies have the final say. Because one day, all these things will be redeemed. 

I don't know what you may be asked to lose today - it might be money, it might be time, it might be a loved one or a relationship, it might be your own pride... whatever God asks you to let go of, you have the choice to "take joy" in the God of your salvation, regardless of what comes your way. 

Even if you lose it all, will you still rejoice?