Have you ever been in a situation that has left you feeling hopeless?

Have you ever been in a situation where you feel alone?

Have you ever been in a situation where no one can understand or relate?

Have you ever been in a situation where your whole life changed in an instant?

The plans you had for your life are no longer there.

The mirror has shattered into a million pieces and you are left to pick up the brokenness by yourself.

Now we know that we are never truly alone, we have God. But in that moment where it’s just you physically…it feels as if you are the only person in the world who is experiencing this type of pain, loss, despair, hopelessness.

How do you pick up the pieces of your life one by one without cutting yourself and having to relive the pain as you pick up or sweep up the brokenness?

How do you move forward?

I experienced something like this three and a half years ago…almost four years now. Where I had everything planned out. I thought all was okay and that things were going to go the way that I expected them to.

Until one day the rug got ripped out from under me.

I remember it being hard to believe as reality set in. That these plans I had made for my life were no longer going to happen. The pieces began to fall and it’s as if they fell for eternity.

I didn’t know how to react. My flesh wanted to go back to my old ways to deal with a pain so unexplainable, but I knew that God was calling me higher. He was calling me to Him. So what did I do next?

I used Google! Yes Google!  I googled “Stories in the Bible where someone had everything taken away from them.”

At that time, I wasn’t too strong in my walk with the Lord (I still waiver) but I knew I needed someone to relate to. I always heard about clinging to God’s word, holding onto His truth so this time I was desperate to know what that meant and really lean into it this time.

 So Google landed me in the story of Job.

I read this story and my heart broke for what this man went through. It broke because I knew what that felt like.

On the other hand, I felt comforted and relief to know that someone in this giant book knew what it was like. I had someone to relate to. Suddenly, I didn’t feel so alone. 

As we know, courage does not mean that someone is doing something without fear. Courage means someone is doing something DESPITE the fear. They’re doing whatever it may be, afraid.

We hear of Moses who had the courage to face the past, David who had the courage to face impossible situations, Esther who had the courage to take a big risk and Daniel who had the courage to not give in. There are many people to choose from when it comes to picking a courageous person in the Bible, but what about Job?

Not only does courage require faith but it requires action.

So, then faith by itself, without works, is dead (James 2:17).

Job displayed his courage by enduring. By pressing on and moving forward after he literally lost everything. He lost his home, his land, his kids, his wife. Although his friends were comforting at first from his losses, they then became critical of the hardships he was facing, began to judge his character, and place blame.

We see him alone in these situations, without much support or encouragement. But we also see God who is fighting for Him, against the enemy to keep him alive and ready to restore and give back MORE than what he had lost.

 “The Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before.”

Job 42: 10

Job could have had a pity party for himself and dwell on what happened, but he chose to move forward differently, he chose God. Through it all, his lips did not curse the Lord and He did not leave the Lord. Job had so much faith in God that He knew what he just lost would not compare to what was to come. 

So much could be said about Job, but I want you to know that whatever pieces you are picking up today that you truly are not alone. You have God fighting for you and desires to restore what you have lost, and He will.

“But He knows the way that I take; when He has tried me, I shall come out as gold” 

Job 23:10 ESV

Because of Job, we can see the benefits of taking that first step in having courage, beginning again, picking up those pieces, and partnering with the Lord. We see how Job’s faith grew, we see that he was blessed by forgiving his friends, we see that His relationship with God grew stronger, and that Job is now a witness of the Lord’s goodness. His testimony still lives on TODAY.

The same God- who formed you in your mother’s womb, formed a man from dust, calls himself the Potter and you the clay- is the same God who is right there with you, helping you put those broken pieces back together again.  Nothing is too far gone for him and nothing is too difficult for him to pick up and bring it back to life…not you and certainly not even the tiniest of shattered pieces.

Keep on praying. Keep pressing into the pain. Keep healing. Keep seeking Him out.

You are not alone friend.  God has you. I promise.

Katrina Taylor- ARISE Photographer and Guest Blogger