Disappointments arrive in all sorts of sizes and shapes. Most of the time we can just pass over them with ease. Sometimes, disappointments live on for days. These are the ones rooted in I.
I didn’t get what I want.
I didn’t expect this outcome.
This is not what I hoped for.
Another way of looking at this is: I didn’t get my way!
Recently, I found myself staring at a huge disappointment right in the face. The picture I saw staring back at me was not a pretty one. It highlighted the disability I wanted to hide. It wasn’t what I hoped for. It was what I feared would happen.
I tried to hide my disappointment. Ignoring it wouldn’t change anything. I shared the news with my two best friends and even when I didn’t like their words of encouragement, I listened. Deep down I knew truth lived in their words. Deep down, I knew I was causing myself stress, acting like a child who didn’t get my way. I knew I needed to start working on changing my attitude from self-pity to acceptance.
I can get myself in a tailspin when I dwell on I thoughts.
I want, I need, I _____. What I want or need or desire frequently does not support what is best for me. I rely on Jesus to know what is best for me. It’s not easy all of the time, but when He is in control instead of me—life is better.
Disappointments don’t happen often. When they do pop up, I can ask Jesus to steer me back on track and find the best answer to the issue in what He wants for me.
Katherine Walden states,
“When you are faced with disappointments and when all around you seems hopeless, do not give up or try to solve the problem yourself. Satan tries to use these disappointments to discourage you and bring you down, but God can use them for a better purpose. Go to Christ instead. He is able to lead you out of your discouragement.”
Katherine Walden
It took two days for me to discard my disappointment. At the end of the second day, I lay my sadness, my worry about the future, my self-pity at the feet of Jesus and gave it to Him. “I am not in control, Lord, you are. Forgive me for forgetting to trust in You first.”
- Think of one of your past disappointments rooted in I. What were your feelings at the time?
- How can you improve on recognizing and handling disappointments?
