Yep, disappointments are like parasites that feed on your dreams and try to wreck your destiny. Life is packed full of disappointments. And whether we want to admit it or not, we all have them. They come in all shapes and sizes. Some are small ones like your favorite menu item got discontinued. Or sometimes they are bigger like when you take the pregnancy test and it’s still negative. No matter what walk of life we are on, disappointments are bound to find us all.
Disappointment = the feeling of sadness or displeasure caused by the
nonfulfillment of one’s hopes, expectations or dreams.
No matter how much we tell ourselves not to, we all have expectations. Expectations on what our life will look like, what career we should have, how our family should look, what our kids should be like; the list goes on and on. When our expectations aren’t met, we are disappointed, and if not careful that disappointment can turn into discouragement and spiral quickly into depression.
I believe the enemy uses unmet expectations to try and get us to ultimately quit on the inside. We lose hope and give up on the dreams God placed in our hearts. Once we shut down on the inside, it’s only a matter of time before hopelessness sets in. But what do we do? Often we cannot help when things don’t turn out the way we had hoped. I know this feeling well. My life has had a lot of disappointments in it. I would like to say I came through each moment with flying colors and full of faith, but I can’t. I am human. There have been moments when I listened to the lies of how God isn’t faithful, good, or there at all.
Over the years, God has begun to show me more about how to handle these situations without losing my hope. He takes me back to the beginning. When the earth was void and dark and He just spoke light into existence. At that moment, He wasn’t only thinking about the sun to brighten up the earth, He was meditating on me. He always has been on my side, even before I was me. If you stop for a moment and think about who God is and what He has done, it won’t be long before your discouragement turns into courage.
The truth is that no matter what happens in my life or how many situations crash and burn, God still loves me. It seems so simple, but how often I lose sight of that in the face of disappointment. I lose sight of the eyes that are filled with passionate and unending love for me. After a few minutes of mediating on that thought, my heart is filled back up with hope. I forget about my disappointments and I remember that God is in control of my life. And the truth is, He knows best.
So if you are facing a difficult or disappointing situation today, stop and think about the love God has for you. He hasn’t forgotten you, how could He? He saw your face before He spoke the earth into existence. Remember that if He’s holding you, there’s nothing you cannot face.
Hold on to your HOPE in a world filled with the lack of it.
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