We had plans for our lives, we even invested our time and money strategically. But here we are, several years (even decades!) later, far from our dreams. Is all lost?
During Moses’ last long speech, before entering the Promised Land, there is talk of establishing cities of refuge. These cities were a place where those who accidentally killed someone could go to take refuge so as not to be condemned for murder, and therefore executed. But through these prescriptions, we find good food for thought.
Let’s take the example cited in Deuteronomy 19 as an initial image. Let’s imagine that the two men mentioned in verse 5 were two best friends, named Joseph and Seth. They grew up together, they spent hours in the forest collecting insects. They studied at school together, and infuriated their teachers by placing these insects on their seats! As teenagers, they met two beautiful girls and married the same year. Seth was the first to be a father and Joseph’s wife was about to give birth. So, as they had done all their lives, the two friends went into the forest to cut wood to build a crib. They had plans for their lives, two families growing side by side… then, an accident happened. “As when a man goes to the woods with his neighbor to cut timber, and his hand swings a stroke with the ax to cut down the tree, and the head slips from the handle and strikes his neighbor so that he dies—he shall flee to one of these cities and live” (Deuteronomy 19:5 NKJV).
The blade of Joseph’s axe came loose and accidentally struck Seth. He collapsed. Joseph rushes towards him and screams for help even though there is no one around, he tries his best to close the wound, but the blood… impossible to stop. His best friend, Seth, clings to him with the strength he has left. Then his eyes close, he takes his last breath and Joseph remains there, helpless.
Joseph bursts into tears, he is in mourning for his best friend. He feels guilty, even if it was an accident. But his fate does not end there. He will not even be able to attend his friend’s funeral. He must leave his village in a hurry to go to a city of refuge, to save his own life. In an instant, all his plans are shattered. He has lost his friend, his home, his village, and his closeness with his family. He will have to rebuild everything, elsewhere, far from everything he knows.
Has he lost everything? No, he still has his God. God is the same in his native village as in the city of refuge. God understands Joseph’s pain and He has provided a way for his life to be rebuilt. God is the one thing that doesn’t change, even when everything around us is falling apart.
Our story may not be as dramatic as these best friends, but how many of us have had our dreams shattered? Plans we made to build a family didn’t come to fruition. We thought we’d be married by the time we were our age, surrounded by children, and nothing. Or we got married in our twenties, imagining retirement with them, and our partner is no longer there. Sometimes we can feel guilty. Sometimes it’s even our parents who make us feel guilty! But when you think about it, it’s not always 100% our fault. There have been bumps in the road, missed opportunities, and unavoidable detours. Sure, we can learn from our mistakes (Joseph probably secured all the blades on his other axes), but after those lessons, what’s left?
We are left with our faith, our God. At the end of our life, whether it was exactly what we had imagined or completely different than what we had hoped, there will be only God. A wedding ring on our finger is not going to open the gates of heaven for us. We are going to enter heaven with our faith. We can lose everything on this Earth, but we will never truly be losers when we are committed to God. If your day is not what you had hoped, take refuge in God. He understands your heart, and He already has another exciting plan to end your day on a high note.