It was still dark when the flood waters leapt the banks of the river. Bill (not his real name) was in his house in a nearby grassy field. He lives alone, but he was not alone that day.
By the time he awoke that morning and peered out of a window, the water was deep beside his car. The swift and rising flood made driving or walking to safety impossible. It dawned on him that he could not leave. He was trapped. As the waters continued to rise, he looked out another window and saw tragedy unfolding. I’ll spare you the details, but he witnessed what he realized could be his fate.
He watched as the muddy water swallowed his car. It marched up the back steps to his elevated deck. It was at the threshold. Then it was in the house. As he stood in the darkened house, the water became knee deep. His phone still worked, so he texted his brother. “All is lost. All is gain.”
Clearly, Bill had come to terms with an imminent departure from this life. If you are not familiar with the words he texted, it is a declaration of faith. A famous Christian was in prison, facing the death penalty. He wrote, “Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:20-21). To be able to say, “all is gain,” when you expect to lose your life is to have a perspective illuminated by a secure faith. It stakes a claim to joy unmoved by dire circumstances. “No one will take your joy away,” Jesus explained after He predicted His death and resurrection (John 16:22). The believer’s joy is grounded in the hope and assurance that as death had no hold on Jesus, neither shall it hold you.
Bill survived. In hindsight, he can look back over this experience and take comfort in knowing that his faith was secure when tested to the point of death. “I have never felt such peace as when I sent that text,” he said. He knew he was not alone. Jesus said to His followers. “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful” (John 14:27).
The time to prepare for the testing times in your life is now. If you can wrap your head around God the Son stepping into this world, dying on the cross for your sins, raising Himself from the grave, and inviting you to a repentant life of faith, then you, too, can say with confidence, “All is gain.”