DEVOTIONAL: Disappointments can be opportunities
Disappointments can be opportunities…..
We have all experienced disappointment and discouragement at some time or another in our lives. Are you in that place right now? Have things just not worked out how you wanted, are your prayers not being answered the way you had thought they would, has someone let you down, were promises broken? If you are, one thing you must remember is that disappointment is a place we pass through, not a place where we stay. God wants us engaged in His plan and His purpose for our lives, being hopeful not living in the disappointments of our past or the discouragements of what we have endured. Have you ever considered that this disappointment could be an opportunity for something far greater or to put you on the path to your purpose? We must stop focusing on what isn’t going the way we hoped or planned but focus on the blessings of life He has given us, knowing that God is in control regardless. He will restore our hearts so we can keep moving forward and fulfill His purpose for our lives. So many times we feel completely defeated due to our circumstances but how we respond to the disappointments of life can make all the difference. Our disappointments can be an opportunity for spiritual growth or it can cause complete destruction in our lives….how will you react to your disappointments and the discouragement it has caused?
In the bible it tells us to rejoice in our sufferings but I will tell you the truth, I have not always rejoiced in my disappointments. Many times I have been angry and been resentful as I questioned God over the circumstance that did not go the way I wanted as the disappointments of life weighed me down. In the midst of disappointment and discouragement, the only way we can be an overcomer is to have HOPE of better days to come. We can’t live in that disappointment but be an overcomer of it. You’ve heard it many times….If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it. That is how I look at disappointment. You have to come to a place that you look to God even in the disappointing times in life and say God, I know you are going to see me through this to put me back in the direction I need to be in order to fulfill my purpose. Sometimes what we see as failure and disappointment, is when God has an opportunity to work miracles in our lives.
There have been times in life I have been so discouraged by the disappointments of life that I felt I could not put one foot in front of the other. Everyone around me was succeeding, things were going great in their lives and every where you look someone was celebrating another milestone but then there was me…..over here experiencing disappointment after disappointment. That is when I had to look to God because my heart was heavy from the disappointment…..in those times God has picked me up and carried me through the disappointment to show me the path He had for me. When you understand the faithfulness of God, that is when you can rise above every circumstance in life that has left you disappointed. That is when He reminds us of His blessings and that our plan is not always His plan and those disappointments sometimes can be setting us up for another blessing and to get us on the path to our purpose. That is when He reminds us even then, He was in control….yes, even in the disappointments of life because God is always up to something and working for OUR GOOD!
Prayer of Disappointment:
Dear Heavenly Father I come to you today with a heart filled with disappointment. Thank you for working all things for my good even when I feel it is failure. Help me to see that even when life is not going the way I had planned and the disappointments of life are beginning to overwhelm me and weigh me down that you are with me. God help me keep my eyes on You and not on the circumstances. Today I am laying every disappointment down at your feet and I am asking you to give me peace that there are better days to come. I ask you to fill my heart with peace and joy so that I can move past this disappointment to a new place in You. I ask you to turn my disappointment into a purpose and show me your plan in all of this. I ask you to remind me of all that I am blessed with and not let me dwell on my disappointments. I give my disappointment to you and ask you to make my life a testimony of Your grace as You conform me into what you want me to be……even in the disappointing times in life. In Jesus name we pray…Amen!
Bibles verses to read when you are disappointed:
Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Psalms 55:22 “Cast your burden on the LORD, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.”
Psalms 27:14 “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.”
1 Peter 5:10-11 “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.”
1 Peter 5:6-7 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
Psalm 34:17-18 “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Written by: Leanne Masten
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