When Tempted To Think Life Is Over
by Doug Isaacson
Do you ever cry, “My life is over!” That anxious feeling can hit you at any age, whether you’re 12, 21, or 91. Yet the chapter you think is ending your story can begin a chapter that everyone remembers.
Here are two examples.
In 1914, when he was 67 years old, a massive fire tore through his laboratory complex in West Orange. Decades of research, prototypes, notes, and experiments went up in flames. The damage was catastrophic. At an age when most people retire, Thomas Edison stood watching everything burn.
He reportedly told his son, “Go get your mother and all her friends. They’ll never see a fire like this again.”
The next morning, instead of despair, he said, “All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew.”
Within weeks, he was rebuilding. Within a year, he had produced some of his most profitable work. What looked like the end of his life’s work became the clearing of the field. The ashes made room for the invention of motion picture technology, the alkaline battery and more!
Sometimes the fire isn’t a destructive end but a creative redirect.
In 1974, at the height of his power, Chuck Colson was known as President Richard Nixon’s “hatchet man”—a brilliant, feared political strategist.
Then came the Watergate scandal.
At age 42, he was indicted, convicted, and sent to prison. His career was over. His reputation shattered. His influence gone. By every public measure, his life had collapsed.
But in prison, Chuck encountered Christ in a way he never had before. Behind bars, he saw something that changed him: forgotten men, crushed by shame, with no one to help them rebuild.
After his release, instead of returning to politics, he founded Prison Fellowship—a ministry that has transformed millions of inmates worldwide and reshaped conversations about justice and redemption.
The prison sentence that looked like the end of his usefulness became the birthplace of his greatest impact.
In 2026, what’s your story? Are you filled with anxiety because life hasn’t turned out the way you planned? Do you quit?
The Power of Proverbs instructs you how to rightly view the circumstances of your life. Commit Proverbs 16:9 NLT to memory: “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.”
Take a moment to think about how God has directed you over the years. You planned one thing, but choices were made, you traveled other trails, and for better or worse, you’re in a different place than where you once upon a time expected.
But here you are and life is not over. So, renew you trust in God’s faithfulness. Trust Jesus, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else…don’t worry about tomorrow” (Matthew 6:33-34).
Remember Edison and Colson. Both men stood in the smoke of ruin. For both men, the chapter that felt like the end became the headline for something greater.
Today, seek God then find a need and fill it.
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