Disappointment is Not the Boss of Me!

Have you ever had your sails of hope up, looking forward to something with great anticipation and it seems like the wind is hitting those sails just right. Those are awesome moments full of promise and it feels like you have great momentum with the dream in sight until all of a sudden the wind changes and your sails become deflated. The momentum stops and your dream seems lost? I think we have all experienced the sting of disappointment at one point or another in our lives and it can really hurt. 

It doesn't matter what it was that you were hoping or believing for; disappointment has a very painful sting. There are degrees of disappointment of course. The disappointment of not getting the home you put an offer in on is not the same as the disappointment of losing a loved one. We all understand that intellectually. However, while it is true that some disappointments are harder to recover from than others, in the moment, disappointment has a real knack of taking the wind out of your sails of faith doesn't it?

If we are not careful, the fear or even expectation of disappointment can keep us in a place of passivity and complacency and cause us to quit on our dreams altogether.

Thankfully, God has left us a book full of answers, strategies and stories of how to overcome disappointment. 

I am going to share three of my favourite ways to stir-up that overcomer spirit and re-light the fire of faith in the face of disappointment. 

1.  Remember that delay is not denial. 

Every story in the bible is a tale of God's faithfulness to His people. 

Remember Joseph? He received prophetic dreams as a child which did not come true until many decades later. In the meantime, instead of the glory of the promise he faced attempted murder, abandonment, slavery, false imprisonment and a slandered reputation. How did He make it through? He chose not to get bitter. He chose to make the best of every hand he was dealt until one day ... suddenly ... the fulfillment of his dreams was upon him.  

Remember David? He was told as a youngster that he would become King of Israel. However after that word he had to go back to tending his sheep, he had to kill a lion and a bear, he had to fight a giant that the whole Israelite army was terrified of. After that word David served the existing king faithfully. David had to endure persecution from the very king he served. In the midst of it all, David remained faithful to God and committed to his purpose. It was a hard road and many times David wanted to quit. David wrestled his passions out with God in worship. We hear all about it in the Psalms. He continually reminded himself of God's faithfulness and pressed on until the prophecy was fulfilled.

Your promises from God are yes and amen. In the midst of disappointment, struggle, tragedy and especially doubt and fear, let's always remember God's faithfulness. Delay is not denial. Trust that God is working it out and setting you up to take hold of everything He has promised you.

Ps. 12:6 says, "For every word God speaks is sure and every promise pure. His truth is tested, found to be flawless, and ever faithful. It’s as pure as silver refined seven times in a crucible of clay."

We can bank on God's promises beloved. So even in the midst of disappointment, don't slack in your faithfulness and obedience to the call of God for your life.

2.  Remember to Decree the Promise

We have the power to decree a thing and see it established. In Job 22:28 we are told that when we are right with God, we can decree a thing and that thing will be established in the earth and a light will shine upon all our ways.  That is a powerful promise. We know Job was well-acquainted with disappointment. Yet God restored to him a double portion of everything he had lost in the trial and testing. Job didn't even understand the test and didn't always have the right attitude in the midst of the trial, but God was faithful anyway. 

If God can do it for Job, he can do it for us too. We can self-condemn and use our own speech to sabotage our own victory or we can choose to decree a thing and war with our promise to see it established.

Remember Ezekiel in the valley of dry bones? You can read that story in Ez. 37:1-14. Ezekiel had to prophecy to those dry bones in order for life to flow into them. That's a key for us too. Prophecy the word of God over your promises beloved. They will be established for you. 

3. Remember to Trust God

Sometimes we forget that, it is not by our own might or power that the situations will turn around, it is by God's spirit. That is what He tells us in Zech. 4:6. In this passage, the angel speaks these words to Zechariah and tells him that this word had first been given to Zerubabel. 

Who is Zerubabel? I'm glad you asked. Zerubael was one of the leaders who lead the Israelited back to their homeland (the land of promise) after their exile to Babylon. This whole passage of scripture is about restoration. However, it is a restoration that does not come from fighting the battle ourselves. It is a restoration that comes out of God's faithfulness. . 

The scripture goes on to say in verse 7, "what are you oh mighty mountain before Zerubabel, you will become level ground."  Do you have a mountain that needs to be made into level ground? Give it to the spirit of God and trust Him with it. 

We can't do it anyway? So why struggle and fight and get into strife and doubt or bitterness and worry. Would you rather fight a losing battle or give it to God and let the creator of the universe take care of it for you? This requires trust. It is hard to let go of the reigns sometimes but sometimes we can be the authors of our own nightmares when we try to handle supernatural problems in our natural strength. 

1 Pet. 5:7 tees us to, "cast all of our anxieties on to Him (Jesus) because He cares for us." 

Do you believe that? That is step one. 

If you need prayer or someone to talk to about a disappointment you've experienced, I'm here. Just reach out.

Here is a song I haven't heard in a very long time but it came to my spirit as I was writing this post and I encourage you to meditate on these words when you have a few minutes today.   "Your Love Oh Lord"

Disappointments are going to happen and we will all be hit with them more than we'd like to be in this life. However, even though it comes, disappointment does not have the power to dictate our response. That power rests firmly in our own hands. If we relinquish that power, the enemy will beat us up with disappointment as a weapon in his arsenal, causing us to cower and submit to his manipulation and control. We must not let that happen. We are children of God and we can choose to overcome. When we make that choice and we exercise our ability to stand firm, to obey the call and to decree the promise over our life, satan is powerless to stop us. 

So I decree over you today that you will recover well from any and every disappointment you face. I pray that your heart will remain steadfast through the trial and that you will prophecy life over any dead skeletons in your closet. You are victorious! 

Please leave me a comment and share this post with someone who needs some encouragement today!