Remembering That God Is Always Present Helped Me View My Loss As A Spiritual Gain

Are you familiar with the story of Job in the Bible? No, cool because I’m about to summarize it no matter what.

In the book of Job, we see a man who endured many trials and spiritual attacks that we understand God to have allowed. Job is a prime example of faithfulness because he loses everything and still remains faithful to God. I believe the purpose of Job’s story is to illustrate God’s sovereignty and faithfulness during a time of suffering.

A time of suffering…sound familiar? If you’ve lost someone close to you, I’m sure you’ve gone through your share of suffering.

Job was resilient. He never quit and never denied God during his struggles.

I can’t compare myself to Job too closely because I don’t think I was that strong, but I really admire him for never giving up on God’s plan.

God’s plan is something that I wish I could buy a subscription to. Alas, I have to be surprised and devastated with no prior notice. 

When I lost my parents, I had to make a decision, like Job. I had to decide whether I was going to gain or lose. Although I had already lost a lot, I immediately searched for the silver lining. It was the best approach for me and ultimately reminded me that this is not a one size fits all situation.

Honestly, you might start out positive, then turn negative, or vice versa. While I started with a lot of positivity, I introduced realism into my approach soon after.

First, I faced the facts. My brother and I were 21, and 17, and we didn’t have parents or a place to live. Awesome.

Then I started to make my plan. Get my brother settled in with family to finish school. Check. Finish college and find a way to pay for it. Check. Empty my parents house and move things into storage. Check.

This is obviously the short list, the abbreviated version of what my life looked like immediately following both of my parents’ deaths. The longer to-do list will definitely be shared at a later date.

Through it all God was with me. He gave me the strength to check off each task and to do it with ease and grace.

I had moments of anger and question, but I never sat with the thought that God wasn’t with me.

I believe that God is active in our lives. I don’t see Him as the omniscient creature that winds the clock then sits in his recliner to see how it all plays out. I believe He is present and active and able to help and to allow things to happen, all at the same time.

No matter what you believe, I hope that this is an encouragement to you. I believe God truly gives and takes away, and hopefully the ‘taking away’ period is at rest for now, and that the giving is in full force.

Molly Dodd