Here’s a thought: Our situation undeniably slaps us with the reality that a lot has been taken away from us.

For all of us, our time to go out freely has been taken away from us. 

For many of us, celebrations for milestones have been cancelled.

For frontliners, it was the chance to be with their families at home without threat. 

For so many, it’s the ability to make a living. 

A lot has been taken from us this season, and I’ll just say “a lot” because it varies per person. 

But I’m also reminded of a very important truth.

In his letter to the Roman believers, Paul once wrote a line he probably didn’t think would become so famous:

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?

Romans 8:31 (NLT)

To be honest, this is not the truth that brings comfort to me now, but the verse after that:

Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all . . .

Romans 8:32 (NLT)

Yes, a lot has been taken away from me—but much has been given to me. God did not spare even Jesus Christ, His own Son.

A life has been given up for us all so that we may be given much—much more than we dare to imagine.

This truth is what I need to hear in the midst of an overwhelming number of privileges that were taken away from me. I have been given much. That’s an even greater privilege.

This quarantine season, I have decided to guard myself from thinking too much of what has been taken away from me. Instead, I need to always remind myself that I have been given much—so much more that it can cut through the pains of suffering and uncertainty.

We might need to shift from focusing on what has been taken away from us to focusing on how much we have been given.

Originally published in:

http://jobwahiman.mystrikingly.com/blog/a-lot-has-been-taken-away-from-us