12 things no one can ever take from you

Around 4 p.m. on an idle Tuesday, God gave me a gift I had been praying for.
As I looked, I received a valuable revelation – there were no other things I needed at all. I wanted them. I didn’t need it. I already had everything I needed.

He said: “You can say this: ‘I HAVE WHAT I HAVE.’ A comment on this could be: I gave you all this, and no one and nothing can take it from you . So rejoice, be happy, in the little you have, it is a lot for you.

I imagined what I had – that I could see: this son, these daughters, this house, this woman; this life. All of this can be taken away from me, some through death, some through financial misfortune, but there are things within these things that can never be taken away from me. They always have been, so they always are. Nothing we lose is truly lost. We keep it, certainly in our memory – which gives credence to the quote: “Don’t be sad that it’s over, be grateful that it happened.”

Here are twelve things you can count on to be yours forever:

• 1. Your memories as recorded in history. You may suffer from dementia, but nothing changes the good you have done, and eternity may well reward us with valuable reflections on the things we have forgotten.
• 2. Your body; what a magnificent instrument of creation, no matter how you look or feel. No matter what your body image is, your body is yours. Until death do you part. It’s a living, breathing miracle, your body.
• 3. Your soul remains yours throughout your life, and you alone – hopefully with God’s help – are its preserver.
• 4. Your plans, even the ones that end up being dashed, are yours. Your plans contain your dreams and they are as important to God as they are to you. We come of age when we can hold in tension the wonder of a dream we have with the corresponding plan that has been dashed. Maturity is a philosophy.
• 5. Your mind and your heart, they are yours. You may “lose” your mind or, for a season, you may lose your heart, but they are still yours, no matter their condition.
• 6. What you see is yours. Even things that aren’t really yours are yours. You see them, so you can enjoy their view. Even if you were to become blind, you would still have the power of perception.
• 7. Another thing God told me: “There are things that anyone can take from you, but there are also things that no one can take from you – look, explore, find, and enjoy, in their entirety!”
• 8. The present moment cannot be taken from any man, no boy, no girl, no woman. Be present and God will give you a glimpse of His eternity.
• 9. The thought you can choose, which identifies that choice, is yours. The choice is yours ! He’s all yours.
• 10. Your dignity cannot be taken away, even in the most contemptible of undignified situations. It would only be your choice to feel unworthy. (That said, there are many life experiences that are truly humbling, although there is recourse to heal all human indignity through the ministry of the God of our souls, the Spirit of the Lord Jesus).
• 11. God is yours as much as anyone’s, on the face of all humanity and history. You are no less important than anyone else.
• 12. Your corner of paradise if you have accepted that Jesus is your Savior and Lord.

Twelve other things that cannot be taken away from you: your smile, your tears, your investment, your role in another person’s life, their role in yours, the music and films you love, the feelings that you appreciate, God’s grace, your time on earth, the blessing of communication, your ability to let go, and your ability to learn and grow.

Contentment is based on knowing that God has provided for our needs, so we must know that contentment is found in His rest.

Originally posted 2019-12-21 06:17:25 .