“But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ…” Philippians 3:7-8

It’s so easy for each of us to look back on our lives and think about all of the things that we have lost. For some reason, our flesh man loves to dwell here. I suppose it’s because our flesh is naturally drawn to the negative. The longer that we stay in this place, the more discouraged and depressed we become.

I’m just as guilty as you are. I’ve dealt with some pretty harsh blows on loss over the past couple of years. It’s so easy to think about each of those losses and wish that they had never happened. Of course, wishing doesn’t change anything. The past is the past, and those losses are still my reality today. I don’t like it, but it is what it is.

Through my difficult season of loss, God has taught me some wonderful lessons to help me deal with all of these painful thoughts and memories. He’s allowed me to experience a cleansing of my mind in how that I view my circumstances. I make the choice if I’m going to look at it in a negative or a positive manner. Now it doesn’t change the reality of what happened, and in no way am I trying to minimize any pain that I have experienced. It happened, and it hurt, but I make the choice in how I proceed forward today.

God has shown me just how important it is for me to think about what I have gained from all of my losses. Sometimes this can be hard to do because we wonder what good can come out of something bad, but it is possible. When we allow God to speak that truth into us, then that’s when it makes all the difference.

The most impactful truth that I have experienced from all of my loss comes back to one simple principle. That principle is that of my relationship with God. For most of my life, I have been a follower of Christ. I have experienced sweet fellowship with Him since I’ve been a young girl. It’s been wonderful, but all of that changed when I experienced great loss. You see, I thought that my relationship with God was good, but now it’s on a whole new level. I have experienced God as the healer, my comforter, my guide, my teacher, and closest friend that I wouldn’t have ever experienced had I not gone through all of my dark days. He has had to pick me up and carry me when I didn’t think I could go another step. He has had to be my breath when I didn’t think I could take another. He has had to be peace and comfort to me when I didn’t know where the next step would take me. Most of all, He’s given me a deep & intimate love that my soul & spirit so craved and needed. He has truly been my constant – my everything.

On my own, I would not have picked the journey that I’ve had to travel. It wasn’t anywhere on my radar, I don’t think any of us think that we are signing up for difficult days when we begin our relationship with Christ. We want smooth sailing days, but that’s not usually the path that God takes us on. Even in the midst of those tough days, we make a decision. Are we going to let God be God during those dark days so that we can experience Him in a deeper way or are we just going to do it all on our own to deal with it ourselves?

Now I am so glad that I made the decision to let Him into my pain to carry me through each moment. Today I experience a deep and strong bond with Him that would not have happened any other way. So as you go through your difficult time, let God be the one that fights all of your battles for you. You don’t have to be strong. He wants to be strong for you. Let Him be what you need Him to be. Let Him be your everything!