God Removes to Replace
There are things I’ve lost that I never thought I would. People I believed would always stay. Dreams I thought were written in stone. Plans I had carefully made, only to watch them crumble right in front of me.
For a long time, I thought loss meant God was punishing me. That maybe I hadn’t been faithful enough, or strong enough, or worthy enough. But becoming a single mother to my beautiful little boy has taught me that God doesn’t remove to destroy — He removes to replace.
When relationships fell apart, when stability seemed to slip away, when the life I imagined didn’t happen, I couldn’t see what He was doing. I only felt the ache. But now, holding my son in my arms, I see the truth more clearly: God will never take without giving. He makes space for something greater.
Scripture says:
“The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” — Job 1:21 (NLT)
For years, I stumbled on that verse. Why bless God when He takes? But now I understand. It’s because He doesn’t just take. He replaces. And what He gives back is always, in the end, better than what was lost.
When I thought my world was ending, God was preparing me for motherhood — a role that has stretched me, broken me, rebuilt me, and filled me with more love than I thought was possible. I didn’t know I needed this. I didn’t know this was what would make me whole. But God knew.
Another scripture reminds me:
“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” — Isaiah 43:19 (NLT)
That’s what He does. He clears out what will only hurt us in the end, even when we cling tight, and He makes space for streams to flow in our desert places.
Being a single mom is not the life I pictured. But it’s the life God has entrusted me with, and I see His fingerprints on every detail. The love of my two-year-old boy has replaced the love I thought I lost. The stability I feared I would never find is being rebuilt in God’s timing. The purpose I thought was gone is alive again in His presence.
So if you’re in a season of removal — if doors are slamming shut, if people are walking away, if dreams are dissolving — know this: God removes to replace. It’s not the end of your story. It’s the beginning of something new.
“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose.” — Romans 8:28 (NLT)
Even here, even now, He is working.
