(This message extensively based on the sermon starters provided in the "Who Cares" package materials from Outreach.)
Show "Who Cares" Video Clip from Outreach tools.
In an instance, life can change. You are cruising along through your day. Maybe heading out to church. Maybe attending a youth rally. Living the same old-same ol’ of every other day. Maybe even a bit bored with the routine that is your life.
And in an instance, your world is turned upside down. In an instant, you would give the world for the boredom of the known. You would pay an unimaginable price to have back the predictable moments that preceded the sudden interruption of your life, and the corresponding loss.
By definition, a loss is any major reduction in a person’s resources, whether personal, material, or symbolic, to which the person was emotionally attached. Often when we think of sudden loss, we think of death and dying. But there are countless other forms of sudden loss that can forever change our lives, and leave us wondering if anybody cares.
The various types of loss that emotionally disrupt our world include not only death, but divorce, loss of employment, long-term disability – the loss of a physical ability, loss of possessions – maybe even to the point of homelessness, disenfranchisement and loss of dreams or goals, even losses brought about by something as common as aging. And of course, on Memorial Day weekend, we can remember any number of these losses that result from living in a world filled with war and violence.
Let me give you some categories of some different types of losses that might help us evaluate and determine the impact of sudden loss in our lives. First, there are. . .
1. FINANCIAL LOSSES
You may have experienced a threat to your security or self-esteem because of the loss of income or employment or through downsizing or, as we like to call it in today’s business world “rightsizing.” You might have had losses because of a crime or a fire. Perhaps you have had financial loss because of gambling or other addictions. In our modern society, you can even suffer financial losses due to identity theft. Though I pity the sad, sad criminal that would steal my identity and figures out what he is holding.
Financial losses are a type of loss that can hit us very suddenly. For example, Tuesday night, driving home on South Broadway, there are suddenly pretty blue and red lights flashing in my rear view mirror, and following a brief discussion with one of Lexington’s finest police officers, I experienced a sudden financial loss.
Another type, or category of sudden loss that people experience are. . .
2. RELATIONSHIP LOSSES
The most documented being divorce or marital separation, but can possibly even be estrangement from other family members: brothers, sisters, parents. Perhaps there is relationship loss through foster care, or miscarriages. It may even be that your loving pet has died. Regardless, you can sense the pain, the scar tissue of a sudden relationship loss in your life. A third category of loss.
3. ROLE LOSSES
For example, you may experience such a loss because your children grow up, leave home, and now you are suddenly facing “empty nest” syndrome. The feeling of loss in your role as a parent.
Maybe your loss comes from the turbulence of a job change (i.e. Nationwide Insurance restructuring). Many students face the sudden loss of a role at this time of year. Graduation changes a part of their identity, a part of who they have been emotionally and actively for the past however many years. Then there are. . .
4. FUNCTIONAL LOSSES
We talk about the number of fatalities associated with the war in Iraq, but there are tens of thousands of more soldiers suffering functional losses because of an amputation, a crippling injury, the onset of blindness or deafness. Functional losses can especially strike the elderly as they age. It seems as if one day we are able to do a given task with little or no trouble, and the next day, someone has to do it for us. Functional losses can also arise from drug or alcohol abuse which impacts not only the addict, but the children birthed during times of addiction.
Are we beginning to see the magnitude and span through which sudden loss can impact our lives? Another type of sudden loss.
5. LOSSES FROM MAJOR CHANGES IN YOUR WORLD
Ever taken one of those life events stress test? You know, you check mark the events you have experienced in the past few years of your life, and it tells you how close you are to a heart attack? I took one this week. It listed “Christmas”. It listed “Minor Traffic Violations.” I failed miserably.
You may have experienced sudden loss because of moving, school changes or for many people that we encounter today, immigration. Perhaps you have experienced stressful or traumatic events such as murder, suicide, disaster, accident or illness. Something has radically changed your world, and caused you to lose a part of your life.
Finally, there are even those. . .
6. LOSSES THAT ARE HARD TO DEFINE
You may have experienced a loss of a dream, goal, or expectation or the loss of your childhood because of abuse. It may seem that you have lost the future with a child because of infertility or infant or pregnancy loss, illness or accident. Perhaps you have experienced loss of self-esteem or self-image because of abuse, neglect or abandonment.
Maybe you can’t define the loss in some neat package, but you know you have experienced a loss that has suddenly changed your life. You see, sudden loss extends so far beyond death in our lives. It can touch any number of us in multiple ways as it stretches out its tentacles almost like an octopus, looking to suction on to various parts of our lives, dreams, and existence.
And regardless of the type of sudden loss we have experienced, the reactions carry many of the same elements: Guilt – maybe we shouldn’t have relocated. Sadness – I’ll never be greeted at the door by them again. Anxiety – how am I going to pay the bills now? Withdrawal – not going to get hurt again. I’ll just isolate myself. Feeling overwhelmed – I can’t deal with any more changes or loss. Anger & frustration – How could they do this to me? How could I let this happen to myself? Feeling helpless – It’s out of my control.
Many of you will recall a man in the Old Testament that experienced not just one, two, even three types of sudden loss, but just about every type of sudden loss imaginable in a very short period of time. Job was an ancient, righteous man. And for whatever reason, God allowed Satan to test Job to demonstrate that Job really was a faithful man of God who would not turn his back on God, no matter how bad life became.
I want us to read a few select verses to get a feel for what happened to Job and explore what we might be able to learn from his example.
- Job 1:13-22
(1st Cell Phone Call - had congregant call my cell phone which had the ringer left on, and was on my belt. Apologized to the audience for the disruption after each call, then had the next come in immediately.)
“Hello. Who did? They voted to merge us? They are all the way on the other side of town. They’re naming Steve the pastor? What am I supposed to do? They want to meet with me tomorrow? You have to be kidding. Okay, I gotta go. I’ll call you in a little while.”
(2nd Cell Phone Call)
“Hey. What? What do you mean my check bounced? So you are freezing my accounts? Hold on. There must be a mistake. Listen, I’m in church right now. Let me call you back. That’s fine. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
(3rd Cell Phone Call)
“Yes. What do you mean you are coming to tow my car? The bank? No, that’s all a huge misunderstanding. I don’t know why they are freezing my accounts, but you can’t take my car. You can’t foreclose on my house? Now wait, you have to give me some time to sort all of this out. Hello? Hello?”
(4th Cell Phone Call)
“What? No, the kids aren’t with me. They were riding out to the ballgame with some friends. Yea, they were in a Tahoe. Yea, that’s the parent’s name. What? When? Are you sure? This can’t be happening. No survivors. You have to be mistaken. It’s not possible. We’ll be right down.”
I’m trying to help pull you far enough away from the comfort of a pew. The poetic phrasing of a Bible. Far enough to see a real man. Job. Husband, father, businessman. In complete shock. Devastated and in total disbelief.
- Job 1:13-22 (read)
Job’s business is doing better than most, he has a lovely family, they all get along with one another. Though they sometimes have differences of opinions and sometimes disappoint one another, they know how to forgive and forget. As an independent business man, a modern day entrepreneur, Job is respected in his field of work and is seen as a pillar in the community. Job attends church regularly and is an active participant. Get the picture?
And then in an instant, he losses it all. So he goes to his study, falls on his knees, and begins to pray to God, the source of his strength. And he begins to repeat his prayer to God over and over and over again. Somehow believing that God will somehow see him through this day.
- Job 2:7-10 (read)
- Job 38:4-11 (read)
What can we glean from the life of Job? What answers, though if not heard carefully might seem trite and trivial, can we grasp on to today as real and Biblical.
Tragedy, heartache, and difficult times of sudden loss. We can come to expect them in our lives, but can we prepare for them? We know that even those of us who follow God faithfully are not immune to life’s losses, but can we find a way to intersect our faith with the tragedies of life?
Like I said in week one of this series, I don’t want to trivialize anything that any of us have been through in our life. At the same time, because of our faith. Because of our testimony, there should be something different between how we look as we walk through such challenges, and how the world looks. So how can we survive a sudden loss, regardless of the type?
A. WE MUST KEEP OUR FAITH IN GOD. (JOB 1:20)
Can you imagine the torment that Job was going through? If you answered yes. You are wrong. You can’t. I can’t. He lost everything. He lost all of his livestock, and all of his servants. He lost his family. His children. Everything that made him wealthy and everything that fulfilled him in his life was gone. Everything!
Many of us have suffered tragedy and loss in our lives. We have lost a loved one, or a job, or income. Maybe some of you have even lost your home. But few, if any of us have lost everything. . .everyone. . .in an instant. Totally and completely lost everything but the clothes that we are wearing.
That happened to Job. And what was his response? He fell down and worshiped God. Now, please do not confuse this with being happy about what was happening to him. Don’t confuse this with some righteous ignorance that says, “Oh well. God is good anyway.”
He tore his robe and shaved his head as a symbol of his complete hurt and agony, but he still worshiped God. And I could not imagine how hard that must have been. At least, not until a year ago, when less than 24 hours after Andrew’s death I watched Phil walk in those doors, find his place in a pew, and worship God. No matter what happens to us. No matter how difficult life becomes, we must never stop praising and loving our Lord.
God sees the “big picture.” God is in control. We cannot know the mind of God. We can only see the “snapshot” that is our lives here on earth. So we must trust God. We must not become devoured by bitterness. We must not focus on the placing of blame for our situation. We must keep our faith in God, and as soon as is humanly possible, draw ourselves into a place of honest, transparent, raw worship of our loving, heavenly Father.
B. WE MUST PRAY. (JOB 1:20-21)
Job lost everything. But, he lay down on the ground before God and prayed. And it wasn’t just any prayer. It wasn’t, “Oh God, make this all go away. Make it all right. Make my children come back to me. Make my life better.”
No, he acknowledged that God was truly in control. God gave, and God took away, and for Job, that’s just the way it was.
When our lives crash, we need to pray. It’s okay if we don’t know what to say. Sometimes we will hurt so badly that we not only really don’t know what to say, we don’t have anything we even want to say. And that’s okay, because Jesus is there to take up the slack and pray for us. The Holy Spirit is there to intercede on our behalf.
For many people, our first reaction to tragedy can be to withdraw from God. But at times of sudden loss, don’t cut off your personal communication with God.
C. WE MUST MAINTAIN OUR COMPLETE TRUST IN GOD. (JOB 1:22)
As Job struggled with his pain and suffering, he never lost his trust in God. He never lost his faith. He never lashed out against God. He didn’t shake his fist to heaven and scream at God. He was humble, and he held tightly to his faith.
And that ain’t easy to do, is it? Because when we crash and burn in life, we want to blame someone. We want to scream at God. And if things are truly bad enough, Satan gets in our ear and begins to whisper, “You know, if God was really there, and if He really loved you, He wouldn’t have let this happen.”
It may seem petty, but I wasn’t real thrilled to get that ticket. Why? Because of the reason I was on the road. (Described the night of my ticket.)
It is easy to lash out at God, even over little things. And sadly enough, we can even begin to doubt the faithfulness of God. What else can we learn from Job?
D. WE MUST BEWARE OF BAD ADVICE. (JOB 2:7-10)
Job suddenly got some bad advice. And, from all people, it came from his wife! She looked at him, sitting there scraping the pus from his sores, languishing in filth. And she lashes out at Job! She pretty much says, “You still believe in this God of yours! What an idiot! You just need to curse God and die!”
Have any of you ever received some bad advice before? Sometimes advice can get us into more trouble than we’re already in, can’t it? Have you ever gotten any bad spiritual advice before?
Now, I’m not just talking about the typical bad sources. You need to be really careful about getting your spiritual guidance and advice from the TV. . .Dr. Phil, Oprah. . .or from the Internet, or even from books. But unfortunately, you don’t even have to go there to get bad spiritual advice.
Even people really close to us can have some really stupid advice. Job learned that lesson, didn’t he? Bad advice can come from a very close friend or family member. It can even come from a respected Christian or mentor? And why? Because people are fallen … people are fallible … and often times we are not very wise.
When you are facing a difficult time, and people are throwing advice your direction, ask yourself, does this sound like it is from God? Does it sound Biblical? If it doesn’t sound like it is from God, it might not be. Even if the other person tells you it is.
In fact, truth be told. There is probably no way to make me more skeptical of your advice than to walk up to me and say, “God told me to tell you. . .” Be sure to check your sources. Be discerning and careful about accepting spiritual advice. Finally. . .
E. WE MUST WAIT UPON THE LORD. (JOB 38:4-11)
I want you to notice that these words are directly from the Lord, and He uses powerful images and words to demonstrate who He is, and how vast His power is. He laid the foundations of the earth, poured out the seas, and set the clouds in the sky! He is God, He has always been in control, and He always will be!
So, if you’re caught up in one of life’s sudden losses, you need to wait upon the Lord, because He has not left you. He is still in control. You might not be able to see or understand what is going on in your life, but God is in control. It may be bad right now. You might think that life, as you know it, is over. You may not be able to see any hope on the other side. But there is hope. There is joy. There is peace. And there is victory in Christ Jesus!
After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park, forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to assess the damage. One ranger found a bird literally petrified in ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree. Startled by the eerie sight, he knocked over the bird with a stick. When he struck it, three tiny chicks scurried from under their dead mother’s wings.
The loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings. She could have flown to safety but refused to abandon her babies. When the blaze had arrived and the heat had scorched her small body, the mother had remained steadfast. She had been willing to die so that those under the cover of her wings would live.
I don’t understand life’s sudden losses, but I know that Jesus will not leave us. He will not forsake us. No matter how bad things may seem, He will still be with us. In fact, He loves us so much, that He was willing to take upon Himself the suffering and death that you and I really do deserve. He was willing to go to the cross and give His own life, so that we might never have to even taste of the death and separation from God that we would experience without Jesus.
And He did it all, on the heels of a sudden loss. Remember one of his twelve closest friends, Judas. Talk about a relational loss. And it got even worse. Listen to these words from Mark 14. Mark 14:43 (read through verse 50).
(Transition to Communion)
