“Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and my God!”
‭‭Psalms ‭42:11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Finally, this was it!  My big breakthrough moment!

I’d been praying and asking God for this for a long time. And finally, the door of opportunity was swinging open.

That is, until I got a phone call that abruptly slammed the door shut on my dreams.

In an instance I went from planning a victory party to having an unexpected invitation to another pity party.

I wish I could say I am a super saint – you know the one who always responds with unshakable faith and unexplainable peace when faced with disappointing news.

But I’m not always that Christian.

When my prayers don’t get answered how I think they should, I get disappointed.

My disappointment rarely shows up alone. It always brings its friends – doubt, worry, and fear. Sometimes it even brings anger and depression.

[tweetthis display_mode=”box” remove_twitter_handles=”true”]My disappointment rarely shows up alone. It always brings its friends-doubt, worry, and fear. [/tweetthis]

I start questioning God’s timing and why we never quite seem to be on the same wavelength.

I question what I’m doing wrong; why everyone around me (saved and unsaved) seem to be making progress while I’m stuck struggling.

I question if and when all the beautiful and exciting promises spoken over my life will become my reality.

I start overthinking, not just my current situation, but my ENTIRE life.

And gradually, my disappointment starts to suck.

It sucks away my joy and my faith. It takes away my desire to pray or read the Bible.

If left unchecked, my disappointment sends me spiraling out of control both emotionally and spiritually.  It makes me want to shut down completely and push everything and everyone away, even God.

If there’s anyone who understood disappointment and the struggle to keep his emotions in check, it was David.

When we read about David in Psalms 42 he was going through it.  People were taunting and ridiculing him for his faith in God.  Worse yet, he had been hurt and betrayed by people in his close circle.

Instead of wallowing in his own pity party, David asked himself two simple questions: “Why am I discouraged?” and “Why is my heart so sad?”

David understood how important it was to not get sucked into his emotions.

Instead, he encouraged himself by remembering God’s faithfulness towards him in the past.

Instead of magnifying his problems, David magnified his God.

[tweetthis display_mode=”box”]Instead of magnifying your problems, magnify your God![/tweetthis]

I want that to be my response every time I’m faced with disappointment.

I want to put my emotions to the side and respond with a heart of complete trust and faith in my God.

I want to remember all the good God did for me in the past instead of allowing negative thoughts to overwhelm my mind.

As we get ready to step into the new year, will you join me on this journey?  From this day forward, let’s vow to not allow disappointment to suck anymore!

Let’s be like David and choose to put our hope in God!

[tweetthis display_mode=”box”]Disappointment sucks: It sucks away my joy & my faith..only if I allow it![/tweetthis]

DAILY REMINDER

Psalms‬ ‭61:1-2‬ (‭KJV‬)‬: “Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭15:13‬ ‭(NLT)‬‬:  “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

What scripture will you commit to memory to help you when faced with disappointment?  Share your verse in the comment section!