This is the text copy of the devotion I presented in my stream of Monster Hunter World on Saturday, November 30, 2024. You can watch/listen to the highlight on Twitch by clicking here.
I began writing devotions to share in my streams only a month ago, and I didn’t anticipate that I would be talking about loss today… but here we are. I might become emotional as I read what I have written, and I ask that you be patient with me because my loss is recent. On the brighter side, in order to talk about what’s been lost we can also discuss what can be found even after experiencing loss. This is my devotion for Monster Hunter World: Accepting What is Lost, Finding What Can Be Found.
The last time I shared God’s word here on my stream was during Souls Week at the end of October and early November–24 hours’ worth of Souls and Soulslike games to torture myself with but which gave ample opportunity to talk about Salvation and Sanctification. I talked about how once we’re saved we begin a lifelong journey and process of trying to become more like Christ. The journey is different for each of us, and there is always room for growth. Despite not receiving the generosity of donations for the Extra Life charity that I had in previous years, it felt wonderful to have shared the gospel and made my words available for others–to provide hope for anyone struggling through a difficult time in their life. I didn’t know then that just a few days later I would be the one needing the hope.
Late at night on November 5th, I had to say goodbye to Athena, the best little gray cat there ever was. I had adopted her in 2006, just after leaving college, and she graced me with 18 of her 19 years of life. Having to give her up was simultaneously the greatest act of love I was capable of and the most horrible breaking of my own heart. It was both a profound depth of grief and bitter relief. She had been declining and struggling for over a year, but every day she still looked up at me with bright eyes, chirpy meows, and a boundless appetite for food and affection. Until that day. And that day is going to stay with me for a long while yet. Being just a few weeks in the past, I still cry freely sometimes. The sorrow is a well of emotion that is in equal proportion to the love I had for Athena, so I don’t anticipate it running dry all that quickly. Despite this, I am accepting of the loss.
If it wasn’t for God’s word, I’m not sure I would have handled this as well as I have. If I was the same person I was when I first adopted Athena, I would be completely devastated, hopeless, and probably angry. I’m sure you’ve heard people who get angry at God because they’ve lost someone or something precious to them, and they have this flawed logic which insists that if God is good then why would He cause us pain or let bad things happen? As theologian R. C. Sproul once famously said, “We don’t know who God is and we don’t know who we are.” We were created from dirt and had life breathed into us by our Holy Father… who loved us so much that He provided a way out of our own sin. It is not so much that God “allows” bad things to happen… but that we chose to disobey, we chose to sin, we chose to let sin separate us from God, and so we have to live in this fallen world. It is His grace and love which allow us to have hope in eternal life with him, the knowledge that sin and death have already been defeated, that–spoiler alert–Satan loses. I had 18 wonderful years with a sweet little gray cat I absolutely did not deserve. She was a gift to me on the days when I had nobody, when I was worried about keeping a roof over my head, when I wasn’t sure when I was going to eat a real meal, when I felt abandoned by family and friends because they knew my situation and yet didn’t do anything. I had so many more years with her than a lot of other people get to have with their pets–sources of joy we certainly did not earn.
But I’m sure you’re wondering when I’m going to get around to quoting scripture, so let me tie this together for you.
Loss is something people experienced rather often in the Bible. (Feel free to grab a concordance to check. If you don’t know what a concordance is, we can talk about that later, too. You’ll love it.) We aren’t told how Adam and Eve felt when Cain killed Abel, but we can assume there was grief. There weren't exactly the 8 billion people in the world that there are today, so the death would have been that much more poignant for them. The passage I want to share, however, is actually from 2 Samuel. David has become King and happens to see a woman. He likes what he sees. Oops, she’s married? Well, let’s get the husband conveniently killed on the front lines and nobody will be the wiser. He forgot about God, of course, and God sent the prophet Nathan to confront David about his sin and that he would have to deal with the consequences.
2 Samuel 12:15-23 says: After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill. David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth on the ground. The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them. On the seventh day the child died. David’s attendants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, “While the child was still living, he wouldn’t listen to us when we spoke to him. How can we now tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate.” David noticed that his attendants were whispering among themselves, and he realized the child was dead. “Is the child dead?” he asked. “Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.” Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate. His attendants asked him, “Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!” He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”
What we have to remember here is that despite David’s sins during his lifetime, he was still described as being a man after God’s own heart. One thing he clearly knew about God because of his relationship with Him was that God has His own plan and is the ultimate authority. While the child was alive, there was hope that he might survive. Once the child died, however, it served no purpose for David to continue on as he had. There were expectations for him as the King and as one of God’s chosen people. Knowing that, and having expressed his grief, he yielded to God and turned back to obedience. While this is an extreme example (as I highly doubt anyone watching my stream or reading this devotion text is in the position of sending someone to war to be killed as a means to an end–and if you are, there’s an emphatic lesson here for you!), we all are faced with losses in our lifetime. Family, friends, pets, games, goals, precious items… And while the loss hurts us, it doesn’t do to dwell on it. Psalm 34:18 says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Just as Jesus wept when Lazarus died, we can expect God to understand the pain of our losses and want to provide comfort and hope to us. Why? Because we are the beings made from the dust of the earth whom He treasured so much he gave us free will–because having us choose to follow him is a much more rewarding relationship than having mindless, perfectly obedient drones who are forced to follow. In Monster Hunter World today, we’re on a scavenger hunt to find the various creatures known as endemic life. They’re not the titular monsters of the game, and they’re not even considered small monsters. They are merely part of the world’s ecosystem that the player is tasked with observing and exploring. But to understand how these smaller creatures fit into the larger picture allows the Research Commission to make life easier for everyone and provide solutions to reining in the more troublesome Elder Dragons. What you don’t get while playing this game in the series is the history: mankind basically got too big for its britches and the Elder Dragons knocked their civilization back to square one. Clearly that was a huge loss and devastating blow in the face of such powerful creatures, but they didn’t give up. The player’s character in Monster Hunter World is part of the Fifth Fleet–fifth! Entire kingdoms have been destroyed by single monsters (such as the Kingdom of Schrade being destroyed by the black dragon, Fatalis), and yet the people of this fantasy world persist and fight on. While their focus is simply survival and improving their lives however they can, we have so much more to motivate us. In the face of our losses, we never once lose what God has given us: the choice to follow him, to be saved from the fire, to live eternally with him. We may still have to endure the trials of this world, to seek the joy of a little gray cat, the love of family, the peace and hope we can give others by sharing the gospel with them. Once King David turned back to obedience in following God, he was blessed with another son with Bathsheba: Solomon, who was loved by God and would eventually be blessed with wisdom from God and grow Israel to greatness. The first few days after parting with Athena, I had a difficult time thinking about much else. But as the days have passed and I have been able to reflect on the joy she brought to my life, I have had an easier time also considering the future and praying about God’s expectations of me and how I can live obediently in order to be an example to others. There will be more joy in my lifetime, even if I go to be with the Lord tomorrow, and it is my choice whether or not to live obediently. Since I am sharing His word right now, sharing the hope He has given each of us, you obviously know my choice.
Psalm 30:5 says, “For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.”
God, thank you so much for every listener hearing my words today, whether they’re watching the stream or checking out the video at a later time. I pray that everyone who has experienced a loss, whether recent or the past, can glean comfort and peace from your Word today, and that they are able to see your glory beyond the pain, to seek you out in their life and share in the joy of your grace and love. In your holy name I pray. Amen.
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