Overcoming Loss: Embracing Faith and Renewal

What would you do if you lost all your possessions?

In thinking about losing everything, it can be frightening and even depressing. We can find it difficult to handle. It is in these moments that we realize the true the value of everything. This gives us an opportunity to be thankful for all that we possess. We truly do not own anything. Everything belongs to Our Lord. He gives us everything that we value and gives us the opportunity to use it to the fullest.

Our possessions are not only tangible, like our automobiles, our homes, and our material things, but also includes more abstract aspects of our lives. They include our families, relatives, friends, and acquaintances who share our experiences and enrich our lives. Beyond these relationships, our possessions extend to our health, and our spiritual life. We don’t know truly their value until they are in question.

Job lost everything. He even lost his family and friends. Or maybe we see his friends think he has done something wrong. He continues to pray in spite of his deteriorating circumstances. It is in these moments when we actually see how truly blessed we are. We can either wallow in depression and get the woe-is-me’s, or we can become more thankful and give praise even more. There is nothing in this life that cannot be replaced. Job teaches us to look to God for all of our provisions and to praise Him in every hardship, tribulation, and in every moment of our lives.

We can take this as an opportunity to reevaluate and consider where we are and what’s important. We can start again with renewed vigor knowing that we possess nothing. It is all His. It is in these moments where we recognize that we are first and foremost children of God and that we can grow more fully in Christ. We become more self aware of His presence and can love more fully.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits—
who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good as long as you live[a] so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Psalm 103:1-5

****EWTN thoughts