Sheryl Brady - Suffering Life's Losses

Today, I want to talk to you about the subject of suffering life’s losses. We have all been through many losses in our lives. 2020 has not been kind to a lot of people, and the fact of the matter is that we have faced losses even before we approached 2020. For some, it’s just loss upon loss. Today, I want to speak to your heart and share some insights I believe will help you, as they have helped me, when we face losses in life.

Father, today I thank you for the privilege of being able to worship You, to break bread, and to feed the flock that has pulled up their chairs to their computers or to Your table today. I pray, God, that You will let this word reach every man, every woman, every boy, every girl, every believer, and every non-believer. I pray that Your word will be effective today. Use me to declare it among the nations, and I’ll give You thanks for it in Jesus' name. Amen.

Today, we’re going to talk about loss, as that’s where many people have found themselves. Someone said the other day, «What has 2020 been?» and I replied, «It’s been a year of sobering reflections.» It has certainly captured our attention, and I don’t think many of us will forget 2020 anytime soon. Many have suffered losses: lost loved ones, lost family, lost jobs, lost housing, and lost income. So many people have faced loss, and it’s sobering to realize that nothing around us is permanent. This realization can be quite unsettling.

The honest truth is that if we live long enough, we will all experience some season of loss in our lives—seasons that will take away things that are very important to us, such as jobs, family, health, and relationships we thought we could always rely on. Loss will take away our peace, our earthly possessions, and sometimes even our marriages. Many of us have experienced, or will experience, the death of someone we deeply loved and cherished. Many of you have found yourselves in these situations, trying to cope or grieve through such losses in 2020.

If that’s not where you are today, I encourage you to lean in, listen closely, and take good notes because at some point, I promise you, you will need the insights I’m about to share. If you are in that situation, definitely lean in and take notes, as I will provide five keys that I believe will help you as you navigate life’s losses.

It’s evident to most of us—though not all—that life isn’t fair. It’s clear that life isn’t a fairy tale where everyone ends up happily ever after. Ecclesiastes 8:14 in the New Century Version states, «Sometimes something useless happens on earth: bad things happen to good people, and good things happen to bad people.» Such is life; we have all witnessed this.

Before I dive into the five keys I believe you will need, I want to mention a couple of things. One is that we often tend to think that when bad things happen to us, it reflects our own badness. Conversely, we also tend to believe that when good things happen, it’s because of our own goodness. However, neither of those statements is true. When good things happen in life, it is due to grace—the grace of God. And when bad things occur, it’s just a part of life that we must endure.

You might wonder why it’s like this, and I will tell you: because we live in a broken world. Our world was broken by sin, resulting in countless hardships. Things do not always go the way we plan. Even as believers, there will be times when bad things happen in our lives that are often not our fault. Granted, there are moments when we reap what we have sown, but at times, we find ourselves facing situations in which we are innocent and somewhat victimized. Sometimes we will hurt when we don’t deserve it, we will cry when we shouldn’t have to, and we will face unexplainable losses.