MOVING FORWARD â—½ ENCOURAGEMENT
No matter how long I walk with God, I continually find myself facing disappointment with my life. I'm in a season of processing many hurts and disappointments now, so it seems good to share what that looks like for me, and I hope it blesses you.
One of the most important aspects of this season, for me, is raw honesty with God. He knows that life is hard and I know he can handle it when I tell him how I feel. It doesn't mean I'm ungrateful for the good in my life or that my faith isn't where it needs to be. In fact, it takes great faith to spend time with God in such a time as this, and there is powerful potential for closer intimacy to result from it.
I heard a wise person once say,
"Disappointment and discouragement are like a car with a flat tire.
It doesn't mean the entire car isn't any good,
but you aren't going to get very far until you deal with it."
I like this analogy and I think it's very accurate.
Another important part of walking through disappointment is sacrificing all of the time that is needed to complete it. It takes discipline to show up for something that I don't feel like doing,
similar to keeping a doctor's appointment. But I know that the alternative is not getting the medicine that I need so I can feel better. God has been patient with me in this area, but I am the one who will eventually fall apart if I don't do it.
Another vital part of successfully navigating through disappointment has been burying myself in God's Word, and choosing to believe it, no matter what. What healing I have found, what a reminder of security, when I get into the Bible. It is the greatest cure when I feel hurt and alone. And, as Peter once said when he was in a hard place, where else would I go? I know He has the words of life.
And, finally, having released all of my hurts in spending precious time with God and his word, I am ready once again to surrender all of it to him. I can say those words before I have put in the time and tears, but it doesn't really seem to be effective for me until all of the painful emotion has been brought out first. I must be bathed in his kindness and compassion for as long as it takes before I am able to be fully restored and surrendered to whatever lies ahead. Because he has been so faithful to me in this process in the past, I can be confident as I am about to go through it again.
I don't want to be ambivalent in my intimacy with God, and I don't want any bitterness from life's hurts and disappointments. I know that I am the weak one in this relationship, and I'm so glad he is okay with that, and so ready to make me strong again.