How do you deal with disappointment? I'm not talking about finding out the sale item you went to the store for is sold out or someone else getting to an awesome parking space at the mall just before you could. I'm talking about realizing that something you had your heart set on, invested your emotions on, clocked lots of prayer hours on... didn't turn out how you thought, or hoped it would? Maybe at first you find yourself in a state of shock unable to completely absorb the scope of your disappointment. But what happens when that shock wears off?
I've learned that disappointment is a part of life, but it doesn't have to rule your life. A good friend once told me after having gone through a disappointment of my own "Mope about it today, you might as well since you've wasted most of your day doing it. Feel mad, sad, disappointed ... But after tonight you have to let it go. Tomorrow is a new day." That advice changed me forever. It was like a light bulb went on inside of me. See before that moment I felt bad about feeling bad. Like if I was disappointing God by not being joyful no matter what the circumstance. But it was in that moment I realized it's ok to feel, to be human.
The Bible says in Psalms 30:5 "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." That kind of joy only God can give. He doesn't want puppets, he wants a relationship with each and every one of us. Like a parent who lovingly and carefully picks up a child after falling and scraping their knee, our Heavenly father wants to heal our hearts and mend our souls. For some of us there's nothing like going through these tough times to draw us closer to Him.
If you find yourself disappointed by someone, a circumstance, or even yourself, and can't understand how God could let it happen, it's ok. God never asked us to understand Him, He just asked us to trust Him. Know that this terrible feeling won't last always, and that joy will surely come in the morning. Allow yourself to feel, and to heal. But when you wake up tomorrow, shake it off and say what David said in Psalms 28:7: "The Lord is my strength and my shield! My heart trusts in Him and He helps me. My heart leaps for joy and with my song I praise Him."
Be blessed!
-P
