When Everything is Lost

He had lost everything. His beloved children had been murdered. His livelihood had been destroyed and his wealth plundered. Even his health and his reputation were in tatters. 

There was no reason left to hope. Nothing tangible to point to as a reason for optimism or faith. It was simply all gone.

It was in that dire and hopeless circumstance that Job declared these remarkable words:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised” (Job 1:21).

May the name of the Lord be praised! But why? Why should the name of the Lord be praised, even in a circumstance where all is lost, and where it seems as though what is really needed is a cry for the almighty God to show up in power? Why would this be the response from Job, and why is it lauded as a righteous response?

Before we consider the answer, let us reflect on the response of another of God’s servants—David—when confronted with a litany of reasons to lash out at God.

In Psalm 31, David has a list of grievances about his circumstances. Do any of these sound familiar to you? Are you, or have you been, in a similar situation? David says:

“I am in distress . . . my eyes grow weak with sorrow . . . my soul and my body with grief . . . my life is consumed by anguish and my years with groaning . . . my strength fails because of my affliction . . . my bones grow weak . . . I am the utter contempt of my neighbors and an object of dread to my closest friends . . . I am forgotten as though I were dead . . . They conspire against me and plot to take my life” (Ps. 31:9-13).

This is not just a bad day. David is flatlining. His body, soul, and spirit are giving out. Even if he could overcome if left to himself, others are planning to kill him. This is not a bad day. This is the end.

It is from that hopeless place David responds:

“But I trust in you, Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in your hands” (Ps. 31:14-15).

Again, it is fair to ask, “Why?” Why is the response a statement of praise for who God israther than a justified plea for Him to do something?

We know God is all-powerful (Ps. 147:5), He desires to deliver us (Ps. 34:17), and even that we are invited to ask deliverance of Him (Ps. 50:15).

But my friends, the power in these responses from Job and David is rooted in the fact that their trust in God’s goodness was not due to anything He had given them, or even contingent on His deliverance, but instead simply in a deep conviction of who He is.

Are there areas of your life where you feel that all is lost? If so, as you look toward the day when all that is wrong will be made right, remember this: The greatness of your God far exceeds a dependency on the things of this world! Your God’s greatness simply is.

When everything around you is lost, you still have everything. When you find yourself in that place, declare as did Job and David:

“The name of the Lord be praised.”

“I trust in you, Lord.”

“You are my God.”