Dealing With Disappointment
Disappointment
During the holidays, one of the most important things in life is how we handle
disappointments....
No one really has an easy life, and everyone gets knocked down sometimes.
When life disrupts our plans and we see our dreams ruined and unfulfilled, disappointment sets in and the way we deal with it can lead to devastating consequences.
When we suddenly realize that most of the time the rest of the world can't identify with our problems and disappointments, it can be devastating. It can cause us to want to hurt ourselves because the world doesn't validate our emotions and doesn't care about our plight.
Despair sets in as we give up and believe that there is no future for us.
But that is when we need to be flexible and believe that some other alternate plan will work out for us. And we must have hope for our future not because anyone else in the world will listen to us or have compassion or understanding for us. We must have faith in God and His kind heart that brought us into the world. He has purposes that usually lead us on a journey with a lot of detours.
We must have faith and be resourceful, taking inventory of all of our gifts, talents, resources, and all that God has given to us. We may be completely alone in the midst of many others who simply cannot understand how we feel. They may be unable to give us any words that we can hang on to.
We must turn to the Word of God, the Bible, and to all the "Magnificent promises" which He has given to us. We must hang on to those promises for dear life when the ultimate monsters of despair come pounding on the door of our heart. We must believe that there are other people in our future who need us.
They may not make it through life if we are not there to offer "The comfort which God gives us in our time of sorrow" (II Corinthians 1:3-7).
Anger and unforgiveness must not be allowed to come into our lives and become our masters. Their ugly thoughts must be confronted and rejected. We are not qualified to become a judge of others given our own record of mistakes and times in which we have not done or said what was right. No one can be a judge except God - because He is the only one who is perfect, holy, and sinless.
Victims are usually perpetrators and visa-versa. "All have sinned and come short of being what God intended for us to be" (my own translation of Romans 3:23).
Disappointment can rule our lives and make us think that our identity centers upon things that didn't work out as planned. And if we are angry to the point of self-destruction and / or hurting others, our world could become filled with despair. And that could touch everyone in our path like a black storm cloud devoid of rain.
Fear may take control of us because we have given up on the idea that the future holds promise and hope for an even better dream.
There are 2 Bible verses which I have hung on to my whole life:
"Fear not, for I am with you. Don't be disappointed and give up on life, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, and I will help you. I will hold you up by my victorious right hand." Isaiah 41:10
"I know the plans I have just for you, plans for good, and not for destruction, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11
Disappointment can become a savage beast in your life. When it comes at you to attack you, use "The sword of the Holy Spirit, the Word of God," and be strong and courageous and wait for God's design and plan to take shape in your life as you seek Him in prayer every day.
(See also Ephesians 6:10-18, and II Peter 1:4)
Disappointment's domination is like darkness that covers all hope, faith, and love.
Light is a symbol of God's eternal, everlasting character and nature. God is love, He requires faith, and He gives hope because the future is secure and comes from His kind heart.
I wish you a wonderful holiday, and a great year ahead, hoping you can move on from disappointments you may have had now or in the past. If you need to leave the past and are having a hard time doing that, ask God for help.
"Dear Lord Jesus, please come into my life and take the burden of my disappointments. I leave all of my hurts at the cross where you died for what I have done wrong and the wrongs which have been done to me. I give my life to you. In Jesus name I pray, amen."
Randy Stahla
