To Let Dreams Die
Picking up the pieces of a broken future
Life changes.
Dreams die.
And what we once thought was a certainty in our future sometimes becomes a certain ‘no’ as we are left reeling from the change and struggling to come to grips with a life so far-removed from what we imagined.
It is hard to let our dreams die.
Hard Doesn’t Mean Unnecessary
It is painful to watch our hopes slip away, leaving only the void of the unknown.
But sometimes, God must pry our fingers open and take what we refuse to lay at His feet, for He knows that unless we surrender the little things, we will never be ready for His greater plan.
In everything - the loss, the unknowns, and the broken dreams - we must trust that He is working.
Scripture reminds us to “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
He knows what we need, and He knows how to wisely and lovingly remove the things we think we need but that are, in reality, hindering our growth and trapping us in an illusion of control, success, and autonomy.
Most of us agree that “He must increase, but I must decrease,” (John 3:30), but how many of us are willing to let Him do what must be done to chip away at our pride, our ego, and our desire to control every aspect of our lives?
In the words of the great writer John Newton, “Everything is needful that He sends. Nothing can be needful that He withholds.”
Our response to the losses of life should not be one of doubt, anger, or coldness towards God, but one that rests in Him and His goodness - despite the inner turmoil, the anguish, and the questions we cannot see the answers to.
He knows what He is working and His goal He has in sight is far beyond - far more glorious - than what our finite minds could create.
The Psalmist reminds us to “Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning” (Psalm 30:4-5).
For the children of God, sorrow is never permanent - joy always triumphs in the end.
Loss and the Love of God
Loss reassures us of the love of God.
It may seem ironic, but time and again, I have seen how countless testimonies from Christians over the centuries - as well as my struggles with loss - stand witness to this reality.
In the losses, Christ draws near.
When Christ is all we have, we see that He is truly all we need.
What we so often experience in the hours of grief and loss is that He is our refuge, our Rock, and the only One we can truly rely on.
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah.” (Psalm 46:1-3)
His tenderness, presence, and unwavering grace are often revealed most clearly in the hardships of this life.
As John Macarthur says, “When God uses hardship, difficulty, and struggle to steer us back to His righteousness, it ought to give us assurance that we truly belong to Him.”
If we are His, nothing can change his love for us.
Nothing - no pain, loss, or uncertainty - can alter His loving oversight of our lives, His plan of redemption, or His omnipotence in everything we face.
The Secret of Joy
Missionary, writer, and wife of martyr Jim Elliot, Elisabeth Elliot knew the pain of lost dreams.
After Jim was killed by the tribes he was trying to reach with the gospel, Elisabeth was abruptly left coming to grips with a loss most of us can only imagine.
She was burdened with the weight of an unknown future, left picking up the broken pieces of plans and dreams that would never become reality.
Elisabeth Elliot truly knew loss.
Yet this same woman, who faced so much loss and heartache in her life, was able to say, “The secret of joy is Christ in me - not me in a different set of circumstances.”
As Christians, we are to “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Philippians 4:4), not because our situation warrants it but because our Saviour does. “The Lord is at hand” (Philippians 4:5), and because of this, we can “not be anxious about anything” (Philippians 4:6).
With Paul, we can be assured that “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard [our] hearts and [our] minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).
“The joy of the LORD is [our] strength” (Nehemiah 8:10), and “the God of hope [fills us] with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit [we] may abound in hope” (Romans 15:13).
Whatever we face, we can rejoice and find quietude in the assurance that our salvation is unassailable, our future is secure, and our God is with us.
As Paul exhorts the believers in Thessalonica, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
Because He Cares for You
Perhaps the most comforting truth in all of Scripture is that God - the God of the universe, the Creator of life itself, the Holy One - cares for us.
As one of my favourite passages says, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:6-7)
He is not a distant deity, abstract and far-removed from the reality and sorrows of life.
He is ever-present, He is with us, He loves us, and He gave His very life to redeem and save us.
As is often the case, the Psalms perhaps most beautifully express this certainty that is the inheritance of God’s children:
“I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:7-11)
So trust him with your anxieties and your cares - He knows what is best, and He is more than able to carry you through the storms of life and bring you to a different yet brighter future.