Nothing Wasted, Part II

As I see loss through the lens of God's love, I realize that not only does God want to transform me through loss, He also wants to comfort me in loss. II Corinthians 1:3-4a says, Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in our troubles. In loss and pain, the Lord longs to comfort and strengthen us. Beautifully, the comfort that He brings to us in our loss and the lessons which He teaches us through loss can also be recycled so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. (II Corinthians 1:4b-5)

Yes, the sufferings of Christ will touch our lives, for on the cross He took upon Himself every sin that had or would touch this world; along with that sin came all the accompanying loss and pain. Words are inadequate to describe the burden that He willingly undertook that we might know a lighter burden. Christ allowed Himself to be yoked to sin that we could know a yoke of love.

Though Christ took on this yoke of sin, the yoke of love and truth which He and the Father shared was stronger than that yoke of sin. This yoke of love and truth was Christ's comfort, and this is the same comfort that He offers to us. As we trust His love, we are comforted in our loss -- and the comfort that we experience is recycled through us to bring comfort to others.

Just as in the physical realm, where a flower must die to bring about new life, so it is in the spiritual realm. In John 12:24-25 Jesus tells us: ...unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

Where there is loss, there are manifold purposes for that loss to be recycled into abundant fruit. In order for this recycling process to take place, we must surrender our own way. We must die to the familiar and expected that new life may spring forth. With new life comes a new song: a song from which comfort and encouragement will overflow into the lives of others.

Any loss surrendered to the Lord will bring about transformation that will last for eternity. So until Christ returns, and the ultimate recycling of body and soul is known: trust the Lord's love, surrender to be recycled through loss, because you know that nothing He allows, nothing He does in or through you is ever wasted.

I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord. ~Psalm 40:1-3~