Disappointment. We’ve all experienced it. Sometimes daily!
Whether it’s that job you wanted and was filled or that friend, spouse or child who let you down, it won’t be the last time you experience that sinking, awful feeling in the pit of your stomach. Disappointment will happen again.
The question is, how do you handle it? Do you hide in your room buried under the bedcovers curled into a ball until the feeling goes away or do you stand tall, smile and face disappointment head on?
It’s easy to hide but much more difficult to face disappointment. Why? Because we fear what we cannot control. Many times we can’t control circumstances or how others behave but we can control how we react to situations and people.
How you react to life’s disappointments shapes your character. Reactions make or break you as a person.
Recently I had several disappointments, but I realized that my need to overcome them far exceeded my need to retreat. It is in that moment of disappointment that having faith in One who is greater than me makes the road to overcoming it easier. That isn’t always the case.
What can you do to mitigate disappointment in your life?
• Allow yourself time to absorb the loss or disappointment
• Pray. Find Bible verses that speak to your disappointment
• Search for something good that can either come out of such a disappointment or a result of that disappointment. For example, maybe you lost a job because of a communication issue. Perhaps God was protecting you from a situation that may not have been the right fit for you even though you wanted it. Not everything we want is good for us.
• Believe God has a plan for your life. He’s in control of everything and knows what’s best for us in our life
Here are three verses to help you through the disappointment. Read and print them out to keep around your house or on your desk. Better yet, memorize them so you have them in your heart when you need them.
Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Romans 8:28 NKJV And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Philippians 4:6-7 NKJV Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
What verses have you found to help you with disappointment?