God Never Disappoints

 

My Dearest Sister,

Have you ever wanted something so badly that nothing but that one thing even seemed like a possibility to you? Have you then experienced your world come to a screeching halt because that one thing didn’t happen? I’m not talking about the tickets to a long-awaited movie release being sold out or the grocery store not carrying your favorite flavor of ice cream. While yes, these things can be upsetting, I’m referring to that hope-crushing, seemingly life-altering disappointment that happens when nothing turns out as you had expected. You planned, you hoped, and maybe you even prayed for it to happen, but it all seems to have been for naught. Even when we try to keep ourselves from having any expectations, it feels as if our hearts have desires of their own sometimes, despite our best efforts to control them. I will admit that I am familiar with this kind of disappointment; Even recently it came calling like an unwelcome guest in my heart.

For months now my husband and I have been excitedly waiting to find out where our first duty station in the Army is going to be. Since he is currently in training and is considered “Active Duty”, we knew that we wouldn’t find out until near the end of flight school. Even though we were able to select our top three choices, we could still be sent pretty much anywhere the Army wanted us to go. Knowing that, I tried my hardest not to get my hopes up about any particular post but despite my best efforts, my heart began to settle on Hunter Army Airfield in Georgia. To be honest, I really wanted to be close to my family in Florida and be able to enjoy the warm Southern weather that I have grown to love. Plus, living in downtown Savannah would have been a really fun experience. It almost seemed as if my heart had decided for me what I wanted, all without my consent. Well you can imagine my disappointment when we found out that we will actually be stationed at Fort Drum in upstate New York – and I mean almost-to-Canada-upstate. I tried to be excited and make the best of it, but I could feel my heart sink. Not only is Fort Drum in the middle of pretty much nowhere, it’s also bitterly cold half of the year. Having been born and raised in Florida, six feet of snow and sub-zero temperatures are not my idea of a good time. I don’t even own a parka, a snow shovel, or any of the other winter essentials. Needless to say, this was not at all what I had been hoping for.

As unexpected and unwelcome as this news was to me, the truth is that these moments of disappointment are inevitable. Sometimes we can’t help but get our hopes up only to have them dashed right before our eyes. There is one thing, however, in which we will never be disappointed and that is the hope we have in God. Romans 5:5 says “Now  hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” At times when it seems like our lives just aren’t going where we want them to, it is important for us to remember that we serve aloving, dependable, and sovereign God. He is in control of all things, even the crazy and unexpected twists and turns of our lives; And because He loves us (so much that He sent His only Son to suffer and die in our place) we know that He has our very best in mind, even if we can’t see it in our current circumstances.

However, as Romans 8:28 reminds us, there is a condition to us receiving this good He has planned for us: “And we know that all things work together for good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose.” You see, the trouble begins when we get so focused on our own purposes, that we forget about the Lord’s. It’s kind of silly to think that we know what we need more than the all-powerful Creator and Sustainer of the universe, but we do sometimes, don’t we? Boy, does that sound like setting ourselves up to be disappointed! To be honest, I don’t even know what I am going to be eating for breakfast tomorrow, let alone what my life is going to be like in year, or two, or even ten. But you know what? God does. So, while moving to New York may not have been a part of my plan, I can be confident that it certainly is a part of God’s; and for that, my sister, I should not be disappointed but should stand up and praise the fact that He is Sovereign and Lord over my life.

I want to end by saying this: Disappointment will not prevail against us. It is only a temporary distraction from the bigger picture of God’s plan for us, both now and for eternity. If we have the Holy Spirit within us, then we will always have hope in the Lord, no matter what the circumstances or situations surrounding our lives may be. I also want to thank you, my friend, for writing this letter to you has caused me to search my own heart in regards to my personal disappointments, both past and present. What I have uncovered is not pretty, but it is an opportunity to turn my focus from the hopes I have for myself to the eternal hope that I have in God, made possible through His great love. It is true that life can let us down sometimes, but we can be sure that God never will.

Your sister in Christ,

~ Lauren

Disappointment and God’s Way

 

Dear sister,

Last night I was supposed to go dancing but my prolonged sickness flared up and there was so much that needed to be done around the house that I had to stay home, help out and finally get some much needed rest. Having waited all week to go to this dancing event I was very disappointed that I was not able to go. In a façade of contentment I told myself that God knows best and there was a reason I was at home sick and not out driving to dance class. Dear one, I think many times we are so concerned about our own needs and our own wants that we place them far above the will of God. We pretend to be content in His sovereignty but in our hearts we are dissatisfied and tell God that we can take it from here. Ha! How arrogant we are to think that we are more equipped and more able to manage our lives than God is.

 Dear sister, there is no doubt in my mind that at the very moment we try to take control over our lives is when they start to fall apart. Then, when they do we get angry with God and ask Him why He’s letting it happen! Dear one, if you have taken the reins from God, give them back. He will not slumber or sleep. He is your keeper and the shade of your right hand. He will keep you from all evil; He will keep your life (Ps. 121:3-7). This means that He can be trusted with your entire life! Confess to Him that you have been dissatisfied in His will and more concerned with your own purposes rather than His and remember that He has promised us that if we love Him, He will work all things together for good (Rom. 8:28).

The next time you find yourself disappointed because something did not go your way, remember that it did go God’s way. And though we may not understand it now, His way will always lead to good, not evil. Rest in that truth daily, dear one.

Your sister,

Kayla    

Disappointment’s Slippery Slope

My Dearest Sister,

When last we spoke there was much discussion regarding our troubles and our disappointments.  We seemed to become bogged down not only in our words but in our spirits as well and unfortunately I sensed that we walked away without the comfort which normally flows from our hearts towards one another.

Today I am concerned in my spirit that I failed you my dear sister.   I know what you are thinking; “failed is such a strong word”.  However, I must call it what it is and rely on the Principle from God’s word:failure is not final.  What is this failure you might be asking? Simply put, I failed to redirect our troubled hearts from the disappointments in our lives to the One who not only knows them full well, but is the remedy for our woes.

Without this redirection (sometimes with the help of a faithful friend) our disappointments can quickly lead us down the slippery slope of all of those other “D” words: damage, destruction, deconstruction, devastation, discouragement,demands, disillusionment, depression and despair.  Without consistent committed redirection of our heart’s disappointment, we can be robbed of our joy! Indeed we can be robbed blind!  Blind to God’s goodness and mercy, His tenderness and forgiveness.  Granted, sometimes The disappointments of this life can be overwhelming and we become weak from their burdens.  That is when we lean harder upon the cross of Christ. It is with this leaning in we can continue on and that we are strengthened. It calls for our listening less to ourselves and talking more to ourselves.  Talking the Truth to ourselves that is!  The Truth is that God has given us “every spiritual blessing in heaven…In Christ” (Ephesians  1:3) The Truth is that “perfect love casts out fear” I John 4:18.   The Truth is that “all the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant..” Psalm 25:10  These are just a tiny drop in comparison to the ocean of Truth that God has so lovingly provided for us in His word.

Forgive me sister for thinking only of my own self and not seeking to encourage you, to help edify your spirit in our last conversation.  I am praying for you in the midst of your disappointment.  I am praying that you will seek to know what God has in mind for you to know of Him as you persevere through this season. Take heart sweet friend and remember that you are loved by God with an everlasting love!

Your sister in Christ,

Susan

Daunting Disappointment

 

Dear Sister,

Oh man, there I was, gazing at a steaming undercooked brownie crowned with vanilla ice cream that began to melt as it was placed carefully on the mass of brownie goodness.  I grabbed for the ordered dessert and noticed the caramel sauce sweetly simmering on top…and then I noticed the nuts.  I hate nuts.  It was almost enough to make me not even take a bite of the exuberantly priced prize that just moments ago looked like the answer to another bad day.  

I opened the mailbox to see yet another letter rejecting me from medical school.  My heart fell and I even got angry.  I told the letter how big of a mistake it was to reject the finest doctor they could have ever graduated.

The stick silently screamed once again that I was not pregnant.

Pain and sadness from disappointment is very real no matter how it is presented.  It can rear itself anywhere from an order made wrong to a marriage gone bad.  Each case seems just as painful at the moment.  How can that be?  How can I be just as disappointed from nuts on ice cream to a husband who no longer sees or hears me?  It is because at that moment, no matter what it is, I am trying to find my joy and contentment from something of this world.  I think the perfect brownie sundae or marriage will make life that much sweeter.  When it doesn’t, I am dreadfully disappointed.  Have you ever felt that way?  What are we to do with this discouraging disappointment?

First of all sweet sister, know that we can find encouragement that Christ was also disappointed in his time here on earth.  His disciples really bumbled around his teachings and showed lack of faith when Jesus taught or performed miracles.  On the hardest day of his life, his three closest friends should have been his dearest comfort, yet they couldn’t even stay awake with him as heanguished in prayer.  He knows what it is like to be disappointed.  But he is also the One who paid the ultimate price so we will never be disappointed ultimately again.  Our sins are forgiven forever, our debt is paid, and we have the hope of heaven!  Jesus not only understands disappointment, he made a way to overcome them forever!

So let us pray when disappointment claws at our hearts that we will remember three things: 1) Jesus is a mediator who understands what we are going through because he has experienced it; 2) Our disappointment shows us our sin of trying to find contentment in this world; and 3) Our ultimate salvation, joy and hope is in Christ, not in anything of this world.

Your sister in Christ,

Colleen

Lasting Joy

 

My dear sister,

It comes into my soul slowly and softly some days, other days with a force, this joy that fills me from above.  I can’t predict but I can purpose.  Purpose to live with joy.  It’s the newness of the year, the hope of the unknown, the friendship of those close and near, but most of all, it is my Savior and His sacrifice that brings joy.  

You see I often live a deceived life.  You might too.  What are you hoping in?  Is it the next paycheck, the good doctor report (today I’m enjoying one of those), the latest gadget, having the final word?  You fill in the blank…what brings you hope?  I find hope and joy in so many things, and not always in Christ.  But when I’m seeing clearly, my hope and joy are fixed squarely on Christ, as the only TRUE and LASTING source of joy.  All the other counterfeits fizzle out quickly—you know this.  I know this.  Why do we fall?  The allure of sin, omission and commission, it tempts us.  It pulls at our hearts and convinces us that the struggle for true joy in Christ is not worth the fight.  The world with its flashy promises of satisfaction, the flesh, so weak and unwilling at times; these things deprive us of the joy we are meant to live in.  

How can we cling to the promises of Christ and find the joy we need to sustain us?  As we know, like Nehemiah, ‘the joy of the Lord is our strength’ (8:10).  There are a few things that help me live in the joy I’m called to:

~Reflect:  Are you looking into your soul and asking the hard questions?  Are we being honest with ourselves, and others, about where we really our in our walk with Christ?  Our relationships?  Our commitments?  

~Rest & Renew:  Often the answer for me is not doing more, but doing less.  Christ isall-sufficient.  As a college roommate once told me:  “Stop acting like you’re Jesus, Ruth!”

~Remember:  Whether it’s a long talk with a friend, looking over photo albums, or journaling, finding ways to remember God’s faithfulness to me brings me JOY!  (Keeping a gratitude journal is awesome for this as well.)

~Repurpose:  Make choices in line with what God is speaking to you through the Word, wise counsel, and prayer.  Sometimes I know what God is calling me to, and I go the other direction like Jonah.  Making a choice to follow where I’m called ALWAYS brings joy (even if it’s not easy!)

I pray your year is one marked by joy in Jesus, the only lasting source of satisfaction and peace in this world.  

(Listen to the song below for extra encouragement on your quest for joy!)


“I Will Rise”, by Chris Tomlin:

There’s a peace I’ve come to knowThough my heart and flesh may failThere’s an anchor for my soulI can say “It is well”

Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead
And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles’ wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise
There’s a day that’s drawing near
When this darkness breaks to light
And the shadows disappear
And my faith shall be my eyes
Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead
And I hear the voice of many angels sing,
“Worthy is the Lamb”
And I hear the cry of every longing heart,
“Worthy is the Lamb”
With confidence in Christ’s continued work in you…..your sister, Ruth