In July 2021, an F-1 tornado struck half a mile from our house, leaving a trail of destruction multiple miles long.

Thanks to weather forecasters who were insistent this would be a big storm and to God’s protective hand, no one was killed. However, a drive to check on our neighbors that morning showed that while lives were spared, homes were not. Houses were shifted from their foundations, roofs were ripped off, garages disappeared, and farm fields were filled with pieces of buildings and lives and memories. 

Seeing so much loss was a strong reminder that—as a Christian who lives in the U.S.—it’s tempting to pay lip service to the passage, “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that” (1 Timothy 6:6-8).

This is my very public confession: I am not always content with only food and clothing. I want more food and more clothing. I like being content with plenty. Being content when things are hard can often be a bigger challenge. Still, after seeing people lose so very much, it was a reminder that—thanks to the strength the Holy Spirit provides—we can be more like Job, who even though everything was taken away, publicly proclaimed, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised” (Job 1:21).