When Some Things Can’t Be Fixed

When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin when the congregation quarreled, failing to uphold me as holy at the waters before their eyes. Numbers 27:13-14

In Christianity, we appropriately celebrate redemption. When someone’s life is turned around, transforming disaster into something beautiful, we rejoice in that event, telling and retelling the story. That’s my story. I followed my way, wrecking my life. Then I followed God’s way, and he made something wonderful out of my mess. Mine is a story of hope in the darkness, and I must share it those who need it. There’s a danger here though. Because God is a God of redemption, and because we can be forgiven for every evil we’ve ever done, we sometimes may be tempted to think that in turning to God, he’ll fix everything, ironing out all the wrinkles in our lives. Can God fix it? Yes, he can! There are some hurts and conflicts though, that won’t be resolved in this life. If a loved one dies in their addiction, there’s no fixing that. Some losses are permanent. Not all sorrows are promised to be repaired here and now.

This is the sad story of Moses in today’s passage. In it, as the Israelites approached the land they’d been promised for years, God told Moses to go up on a mountain to look at the land. That was as close as he was ever going to get though. Because of one specific act of disobedience – striking the rock with his staff – God prevented Moses from entering the Promised Land. Though he’d led his people out of Egypt and though he’d obeyed God countless times, this one act of defiance disqualified him. Moses would die without ever getting to the place he’d been leading his people for years.

We can cause ourselves consequences that cannot be repaired in this life. We can’t make loved ones find recovery, and they can hurt themselves and us in ways that can’t be fixed. Spouses or children may wander from their faith, and we can’t force them to return. There are some sorrows in this life that will not be undone. What are we to do? First, we can and should take all our sorrows to God, asking what he wants us to do with them. We can always maintain hope that God will intervene in a loved one’s life, turning them back to him. Still, there are hurts and losses that we know can’t be undone. Moses understood there was no hope of entering the Promised Land.

When we realize that something won’t be fixed in this life, we must embrace faith, believing in God’s promise of the next life. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away (Revelation 21:4). Moses could have wallowed in self-pity, but instead, he practiced faith, getting back to doing the work God had left for him. And what choice did he have? Wallowing wouldn’t have changed God’s mind. Instead of embracing misery, Moses embrace life, continuing to follow God. So must we. This doesn’t mean we won’t feel sorrow. It just means that we’ll find some peace and hope in believing that one day, we’ll find complete healing as God wipes away every tear from our eyes.