Last week, Seth and I faced a bit of a disappointment. I won’t go into details, and it was nothing too major, but we found out that plans we’d made had fallen through. And our dreams, the short-term picture we’d had of our future, had to change.
Disappointment happens when we are upset by unmet hopes or expectations.
In our case, that’s exactly what happened. What we hoped would happen didn’t happen. Our hearts felt heavy. We weren’t crushed or devastated, but we were a little sad.
It’s okay to feel disappointed. But know that no matter what happens, no matter what life throws at you, no matter how many unmet expectations pile on top of each other, God is still with you. He knows the plans He has for your life and He is working and moving, even when you don’t understand His ways.
I love the popular words of Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
When we come up against disappointment in our lives—and I doubt any of us can go through life completely unscathed by disappointment’s sting—this is one of God’s many promises that we can count on.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart…”
We can trust in God always. We can surrender our hearts to Him. Our God is not a God of disappointment, but our sole source of satisfaction.
“…Lean not on your own understanding.”
We can’t depend on our own strength and understanding to get through each day. We have a limited perspective. Where we see disappointment, God sees opportunity. He sees the future. He sees the big picture.
“In all your ways submit to him…”
So let us give ourselves completely to the Creator of the Universe. Let us lay down our hopes and dreams at His feet, submitting our ways in favor of a better way, His way. Let us seek Him first in all that we do.
“…And he will make your paths straight.”
When we trust God, when we remember that His way is better. When we surrender to Him, God will show us which path to take. He will make our way clear before us. He will exchange our hurt and disappointment for something far beyond our wildest hopes and dreams.
God knows our hearts.
He sees our disappointment. But He also knows what is best for His children. He delights in giving us good gifts, even when these do not come in the way we expect.
Our joy is found when we trust in God always and remember His everlasting presence, even in the face of life’s greatest disappointments.
And never forget… you are onederfully created by Him.
Love,
Becca
