Tag: disappointment

3 Steps to Deal with Disappointments

by Nicky Wood

At the start of 2019, I am excited about all the possibilities that lie ahead of me, but at the same time, I can’t help but ponder events of the past year and relive some of the disappointments. There were so many times during the year where it felt like I was giving one step forward yet two steps back. As much as I am optimistic at the beginning of every year, I must be realistic and realize that disappointments will come over my path again this year. Yet the important question is how can I handle them in a biblical way? I know there will be times when I will disappoint myself and there will be times when people I love will disappoint me. How do we deal with disappointments without becoming bitter and disillusioned?

I believe we can find three great pointers on how to deal with these situations in the book of Habakkuk. The name Habakkuk means to embrace or to wrestle and it literally seems as though Habakkuk is wrestling with God with the honest questions that he poses to Him throughout the short book. So, the first thing I believe we should do is:

  • Tell God how you feel

Hab. 1:2 “How long oh God must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you “Violence!” but you do not save?”

God can handle it if we pour out our hearts and our disappointments to Him. He isn’t surprised at our emotions because He created them! David often poured out his heart before the Lord, and I believe we should do so too, but at the same time, we should make time to hear His reply to us. Expect Him to answer you just like he answered Habakkuk (see Hab. 1:5 -11 and Hab. 2)

  • Trust His timing

Hab. 2:3 “…Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay”

Sometimes we just need to wait for God’s timing and trust Him with the detail of our lives. Delay does not always mean denial. Your disappointments of the past year can be turned into re-appointments during this year. When we feel upset about circumstances we should meditate on the fact that God’s ways are perfect and so is His timing.

  • Thank Him in the face of tough circumstances

Hab. 3:17-18 “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no fruit, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Saviour.”

As hard as this last one might be, I think it is the most important, because it really shows God that we trust Him and that we know that His ways and His plans for us are perfect. This gives us reason to rejoice despite what we see going on around us! The Bible says that faith is the evidence of things unseen (Heb 11:1).  When all we see with our physical eyes are despair and disappointments, we can ask God to give us faith to see the unseen and to believe in better things to come! We can be assured of His perfect timing and know that He will turn our disappointments around and give us the strength to hope once again.

Great Expectations

by Nicky Wood

Proverbs 29:18 (KJV) “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”

What is your vision for the rest of your life? And how has it been influenced by unmet expectations?

We’ve all been hurt by unmet expectations. Every day when we wake up, whether we admit it or not, we have expectations of the people we love the most. Yet people will always disappoint you in some way or another… our humanity makes us fallible.

We can perhaps still comprehend it to a degree when other people fail us even though we might be heartbroken.

But what of the expectations we have of God?

How does it influence our prayer life, our vision and our purpose when some of our earnest prayers have not been answered and it feels like God is not listening to us, or some unexpected tragedy strikes? Will we admit to ourselves (and to God) that we are disappointed and discouraged?

God knows all about you. He knows what your next prayer will be. He knows what your next sin will be. He knows you completely and still He loves you infinitely. Even though you might be angry and disillusioned, He is not angry or disillusioned by you.

The worst thing you can do is to withdraw from Him because that which you have expected from Him has not materialized. I want to elaborate on this concept in my next few posts because I want you to find out more about who He is and what He wants to do in your life through His faithfulness.

I truly believe that when we have a revelation of His faithfulness and when we pray knowing who He is and what He is capable of doing, when we have faith the size of a mustard seed, we will see mountains being moved. When we pray within the will of God, for the glory of God and not ourselves, and in a trusting manner, we will start to see the manifestation of our prayers. When we keep record of all He has done in the past for us and meditate on this, our future prayers can become even more powerful.

Jeremiah 29:11-13: ““I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.””

You can count on His promises for your future. He never changes and He never fails…Numbers 23:19: “God is not a human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?”

I pray that you won’t fall into the trap of letting your vision die because of past disappointments and unmet expectations.