“The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart: and a good report maketh the bones fat.” (Proverbs 15:30)
Oh how our peace can depend upon what our eyes see, or the good report we hear. We look for the smallest signs that things are okay. But what if they are not? What if the word comes in and our worst fears are realized? What if we, like Jeremiah, are looking out over the wreckage of our devastated home and country? Will God still be God? Will He still be our God? Jeremiah said, “This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:21-23)
No matter what is happening in our lives, God never stops being God. “For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” (Malachi 3:6) Even if it is only the breath in your nostrils, the little that God leaves us is the sign that things will be okay. We may not even have the shirt on our back, but we can have hope for the future if we are still alive and God is still there and we have the ability to go forward with Him. He can rebuild our lives from scratch, better than ever, if we will let Him.
The truth is: to the degree our previous life was built without God, it needed to be torn down. There is “a time to break down, and a time to build up … a time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away” (Eccl. 3:3,6) Even Isaac can become an idol.
Don’t mourn the loss of what was not of God. Except the Lord builds the city, you are building in vain. If He loves you He will put fire to the dross in your life. What could have taken you away from Him had to go. It is time to move on, with a peace in your heart that God is in control and has a better future for you than any you could engineer for yourself.
Nothing with God is immeasurably better than everything without Him. Don’t be afraid to begin anew with God by your side.