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I often get asked a lot of times how I am always so happy and full of energy. The truth is that is not the truth. I am not always happy and I am not always full of energy and I have had my fair share of disappointments too. To be VERY honest, I have been disappointed more times than I can count or recall. But I have learned over the years to allow the tears and pain from my experiences with disappointments to keep me still in the presence of God and allow Him take control. I have learned to be at peace and stir my joy in the presence of God. I have learned to position myself in worship and watch God fight for me as opposed to striving in vain (2 Chronicles 20:15) Disappointments are inevitable. We are going to let people down and people will let us down, but how you navigate through your disappointments is the key to it all! Most of my disappointments have come to exist from either placing my expectations in people, things or myself. But there is one person who always surfs me through the waves of disappointment and redirects my focus, God. God by Himself, God through my family, God through my friends and God through strangers. God has been the only constant and he has taught me how to take my disappointments and use them as praising grounds for future expectations in Him.
Imagine being so sure of something, having prayed for days and placed every single ounce of hope and faith that you have in God, only for that thing not to come to fruition. What then do you do? The easiest thing to do will be to allow your hurt and pain to push you to blame God and just quit this thing called “Faith”. The mountains have been standing in your life for way too long and God does not seem to be doing anything so why keep believing right? DO not be deceived, that is exactly where the devil wants you so he can lure you to place your trust and dependence in things of the world leading to more disappointment and emptiness.
How then can you navigate through disappointments with joy?
By bringing your mind and heart to remember His grace during past difficulties/disappointments and using that as the fuel for waiting on His future grace to be displayed. By praying for God to help your unbelief as you study His character through scripture. By focusing on the things above and not on the things of this earth (Colossians 3:2) If God has not failed you before, what makes you and I think that He will start now? Easier said than done, but His strength (Grace) is sufficient for us. He is a God who cannot deny Himself and when He speaks a thing, it shall surely come to past. His promises are available and time has not nullified not one of them. They live on from GENERATION to GENERATION. Hope in God’s word NEVER fails (Romans 5:5). Though not displayed in a manner consistent with our “wishes” and prayers, God’s promises for our lives are of good and not evil. Countless times throughout the Bible we see the Character of God revealed to His children. A God of might and power, the sovereign God, all knowing and all sufficient, A God who can handle ALL things. A God who who does not miss a single thing about ANY of His children.
Proverbs 23:17-19 says:
Do not let your heart envy sinners [who live godless lives and have no hope of salvation],
But [continue to] live in the [reverent, worshipful] fear of the Lord day by day.
Surely there is a future [and a reward],
And your hope and expectation will not be cut off.
Listen, my son, and be wise,
And direct your heart in the way [of the Lord].
The world tells us today that the only way to cure disappointment is to not expect anything at all. That cure may work for people but not for God. He rejoices in our expectations in Him. What then is the purpose of faith and hope if we do not expect an end result; The return of our Lord and personal savior Jesus, the Salvation of our souls or the healing of the sick. All who come to Him must believe that He is God and a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him (Hebrew 11:6)
Every disappointment has taught me a lesson and displayed the glory of God in different ways that I have never expected. It is always a thing of joy knowing that God calls us out of the disappointments of life and uses those disappointments for our good, walking WITH us throughout and revealing His hidden glory in them. Our vision is limited. We can only see in part and understand in part. But God who sees beyond time encourages us to wait ON HIM, to keep hoping, to live by faith and to cast all our anxieties and worries on Him for He cares for us.
If He has done it before, surely He can do it again!
SA
❤