Nothing Left to Lose

“There is only one way to not be threatened by anything, and that’s if you have nothing left to lose.” — Brant Hansen

I came across this quote in a book I’m reading right now, and it lingered with me because, if we’re honest, most of us live with some underlying fear of losing something important — security, health, stability, wealth, reputation, or the people we love most. For many of us, that fear centers on our children. I remember a season when the thought of losing mine felt unbearable. We say we trust God. We say we surrender all. But when it comes to our children, that surrender can feel almost impossible.

Recently, someone wrote to me after I shared about ​my grandmother and the hope of Heaven​. They admitted they struggle to long for Heaven because they fear leaving behind their children and grandchildren. I understood that immediately. There was a time when my faith quietly carried a question underneath it: If I serve God faithfully, will He protect my children?

Over time, and through a very difficult road that I won’t go into here, I learned something sobering. God might protect them in the ways I hope. Or He might allow things I would never choose. That realization forces a deeper question: Is He still good if my worst fears materialize?

After years of wrestling, my answer is YES. My circumstances do not redefine who God is.

Our families are beautiful gifts from God, but even good gifts can become Ultimate things. In biblical times, idols were fashioned from wood, stone, or gold — materials that were not evil in themselves. The problem was not the object; it was the elevation. An idol is simply a good thing made Ultimate.

We say that we trust the Lord, but what if the worst happens? Do you still trust Him? Do we love the gift more than the Giver? We subtly believe that if we are faithful enough, obedient enough, devoted enough, He will secure what we treasure most. But that is not trust; it is a quiet form of negotiation.

The story of Job brings this into focus. He lost his children, his home, his wealth, and his standing in society. When we read his story, we see the larger picture unfolding in heaven, but Job did not. In his grief, he trusted that there was a bigger story beyond what he could see. All he ultimately had left was God Himself.

In the book I’m in right now, I read about a father whose little girl was killed in an act of unspeakable violence. A few days later, he sat in her room and took down a cross-stitched picture hanging above her bed. Turning it over, he showed the tangled threads on the back and said, “I feel like we’re only seeing this part right now, where it looks like chaos. But someday we’ll see the front, where the stitches make more sense, and it will be beautiful. It doesn’t make sense, but I have to trust God.” Through unimaginable grief, he still believed. Some might call that naïve. I see it as the essence of trust.

Over time, through my own heartbreak and surrender, I have come to understand what it means to have “nothing left to lose.” It does not mean I love less fiercely or pray less passionately. It means I have placed what I love most back into the hands of the One who gave those gifts in the first place. Our children were never ultimately ours. They are entrusted to us for a season.

When we give our lives to Christ, it truly includes everything — even the people we would do anything to protect. They are not ours to control; they are His. And while I cannot see the full tapestry of the story yet, I trust that He can.

This kind of surrender does not come naturally. For me, it has been cultivated slowly through daily time with Him — prayer, Scripture, quiet reflection, worship. These practices do not erase pain, but they anchor the heart in something steadier than circumstances.

We see only in part right now. One day, we will see clearly. Until then, we trust the One who sees the whole picture, even when all we can see are tangled threads.

“The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” Job 1:21

The video below is an anthem song for me that I preach to my heart often. If you are struggling with this message, maybe it will bless you today.

“Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.” Job 13:15

The book I’m reading right now is ​Unoffendable: How Just One Change Can Make All of Life Better​ by Brant Hansen. Amazon affiliate link.

March 4, 2026 Morning Brew

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