Isaiah 43:18–19 – “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?”
There’s a particular kind of heartbreak that comes from watching a dream fall apart. It’s actually a form of grieving.
Not the kind you get over in a weekend. Not the kind that gets fixed by a Pinterest quote and a a $10 latte. I’m talking about the slow, heavy, silent kind—the kind where something you thought would happen doesn’t, and you’re left staring at the pieces thinking, Okay, now what?
Maybe it was the college you didn’t get into. The job that ghosted you after the second interview.
The plan you prayed about, prepared for, and built your identity around—gone. Or maybe it’s worse: it’s a dream that didn’t fail. It just changed. And you’re grieving what it used to mean to you. It’s a weird, holy ache.
Because somewhere along the way, we were told that if we just prayed hard enough, worked smart enough, and stayed positive, our dreams would come true. And maybe some do. But what about the ones that don’t?
What do you do when the thing you were sure was from God… isn’t? What happens when the door you begged Him to open stays shut?
Isaiah 43:18–19 is the verse I come back to when life doesn’t look like the brochure:
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?”
At first, it feels like a spiritual slap in the face. Forget the former things? Um, God, I worked really hard for those former things. I wanted them. I cried over them. They meant something.
And God says: I know and I saw. But I’m doing something new.
The thing about dreams is… they’re often ours. Good intentions, good ideas, good effort—but sometimes not God’s plan. And that hurts. It’s okay to admit that. You can love God and still feel disappointed. You can trust Him and still grieve the story you thought you’d be living.
But you don’t have to stay stuck there.
Here’s what I’m learning when dreams die—or change:
1. Grief is Allowed
Let yourself mourn the version of your life that didn’t happen. It’s not dramatic. It’s honest. And God meets us in the honesty, not the performance. He never told us to pretend. He told us to come to Him, all weary and heavy-laden. Dream loss counts. Just take a night or a set period of time and say “Okay I am going to live in this and feel all of the feelings.” Block it off in your calendar, for real.
2. Dying Dreams Aren’t Wasted
Even the closed doors and weird plot twists serve a purpose. That major you left? That relationship that didn’t work? That city you moved away from? God doesn’t waste the things we walk through. Sometimes, what feels like failure is just formation in disguise.
3. A New Thing Doesn’t Mean a Worse Thing
We panic when plans change because we assume “different” means “downgrade.” But God isn’t downsizing your life—He’s redirecting it. The new thing may not look how you imagined, but it will be marked by His goodness. You just might not see it yet.
4. You’re Still Called, Even if It Looks Different
Calling isn’t one rigid path. It’s not locked in at age 17. You’re allowed to evolve. You’re allowed to let go of what no longer fits and trust that God will meet you in the shift. You don’t have to cling to a dream that’s no longer bearing fruit.
5. God is Still In It
Even when you feel lost. Even when you feel disappointed. Even when everyone else’s life looks shiny and yours feels like a reset button on repeat. He is doing a new thing. And if you’re too busy staring at the old thing, you’ll miss it.
So, yeah. It hurts when dreams die. It stings when life reroutes. But—sometimes what feels like an ending is just a holy beginning in disguise.
You don’t have to pretend it doesn’t hurt. You just have to open your hands and say, “Okay, God. I’m listening. What new thing are You doing here?”
Because He is doing something, even if it doesn’t look like much yet.
Hanna Rellar 