When I moved to the United States to become a full-time ministry student I knew that things would change and be complicated. What I was not expecting was that I would lament so much about what I had lost. I didn’t necessarily want to move, but I knew that God was calling me to. I was previously established at a church where I was in a ministry that I loved deeply. My family and friends were far away. I had to build a life from scratch now that everything else was gone. I started missing my language and people’s demeanor. I even missed the mountains and diversity that I once took for granted when I lived in Costa Rica. Slowly, I started to build my life in this new country. I started building relationships and making friends. I started getting involved in the life of the campus of which I was a part. The previous glories were now shadows of the new opportunities.

In Ezekiel 27 we see a prophecy that points to the mourning of the great city of Tyre. This was one of the strongest at the time and the passage explains this. Ezekiel goes into a song of lament remembering all of the previous glories one by one and those who will lament over the destruction. Lots of people are going to lament the loss of this great city, but not the people of God. They have a God who is greater than this city. Judah and Israel do not participate in the mourning for it is actually an opportunity for them to grow out of their oppression.

When someone dies, when we transition out of a position, or when we move from one country to another, we lament over what we have lost. Losing someone or something can be painful but it also creates new opportunities for us to grow. We can stay stuck in the mourning and the suffering and it would be justified, but it would not be beneficial. In due time we need to make space for God to move in our pain and our suffering. God is creating an opportunity for us to grow closer to Him every day. That is what we should focus on today.