Disappointment

Ever feel disappointed? I had three significant disappointments all within a short period of time. Things didn’t work out the way I had hoped. It was a real set back and I was somewhat caught off guard and surprised at the overwhelming emotions of disappointment.

“¹²Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12 (NKJV)

Reading my own experience right there on the pages of my Bible gave me great comfort! The very thing I had hoped for did not come. My hope had been deferred; “put off (an action or event) to a later time; postpone” and I was most definitely experiencing a sick heart.

I wrote the verse on a slip of paper and carried it in my pocket for days. Every time I felt the disappointment I pulled out the verse to remind myself not to lose hope because when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.

We are going to experience disappointments as part of life. We must continually examine our hope to be sure it is in full harmony with God’s Word. Is my hope in a relationship, a person, material things, career, money, status, fame or certain circumstance? When our hope is placed in the Lord Jesus Christ we can be sure He will see it through to the end for our good. Our desire may not come at the time we expect but when that desire is out of the overflow of our delight in the Lord, He shall give us the desires of our heart. (Ps. 37:4) And when that desire comes, it is a tree of life.

What is the desire of your heart and in Whom is your hope placed?

Photo: “closeup shot of stressed out lady” by stockimages

So I had a hard week! Things didn’t quite turn out the way I had hoped and I was left disappointed & discouraged. As I continue my studies on the book of Ruth I’ve learned a valuable lesson from Naomi’s response to her tragic circumstances which would have brought tremendous disappointment.

•Due to famine, she and her family left Bethlehem to go live in the foreign land of Moab.

•Her husband died.

•Her sons both married Moabite women (probably not her first choice).

•Then the unimaginable happened; both of her sons also died.

•She was left in a foreign land with her two Moabite daughters-in-law.

Her world was turned upside down. So she, and her daughter-in-law Ruth, headed to Bethlehem.

When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?” “Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.” (Ruth 1: 19b-21)

The name Naomi means “beautiful and pleasant,” yet she changed her name to Mara, which means “bitter.” I used to view Naomi’s response in a negative light and thought perhaps she needed a new attitude rather than her new name. However, after drinking from the cup of difficulties in my own life, I have come to appreciate Naomi’s ability to be sincere with this community of women. She didn’t put on a smile and pretend everything was alright. Clearly, everything was not alright. Naomi was REAL. She confessed that she had responded to her incredibly difficult, life-changing circumstances with bitterness.

Let’s not minimize her pain and deny her the time to work through that pain, even if it means going through a season of bitterness. Instead, may we learn from Naomi’s example of being real, admitting life can be difficult, as circumstances don’t always work out the way we hope.

Personally, I find great encouragement from the women in my life who are real and can admit the condition of their heart; the ones who know they need a Savior because they can’t do it on their own; the ones who know their Savior is bigger than their circumstances; the ones who trust by faith that the Savior is working on them right where they are – right in the midst of their bitterness. (Or grief, depression, disappointment, sadness, frustration, anger, loneliness, confusion, or sorrow.) You fill in the blank.

Tag: Disappointment

What a disappointment!

SO I HAD A HARD DAY