Amanda BethSharing the Truths Behind the TRUTH

Sep 5th Monday’s Blog: Disappointments

Today is Labor Day. Summer is ending. School is starting up again. Last week I signed my kids up for a homeschool co-op group where they’ll be attending three classes a week through the school year. My kids were excited to sign up for their classes. But since there was limited space they had to make a list of their first, second, and third choice for each class. My boys got their first choice for all three classes. My daughter, however, ended up with three classes she didn’t want. Her excitement quickly turned to tears of disappointment.

It made me think about how many times we experience disappointments in life, as things don’t always work out the way we would like them to. I don’t believe it’s wrong to feel disappointed. The Bible tells us God comforts the downcast (2 Corinthians 7:6). The Bible also tells us God comforts us so we would comfort others who are disappointed with the comfort we have received from Him (2 Corinthians 1:4).

When we are disappointed we have one of two choices. We can receive God’s comfort and allow Him to lift us up by filling our hearts with hope that He will work it out. Or we can sulk in our sorrows and allow our disappointments to keep us down and make us bitter.

And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

—Romans 5:5         

Hope keeps us trusting God to work our disappointments out for our benefit. Many times our expectations lead us to disappointments. We expect something to happen a certain way, but then we get disappointed when it doesn’t work out the way we planned. Hope, on the other hand, trusts that God gives us what we need, even when it’s not what we want.

For example, I searched for an agent for my book for almost two years. When I finally got an agent, God told me to walk away and self-publish, as that was clearly His plan. Suffice it to say I was deeply disappointed. I didn’t want to self-publish. I didn’t want to do all the work on my own. I have four children to care for. I didn’t understand why God would give me more work when I already had so much to do.

Despite my disappointment, I trusted God had a better plan. So I started to self-publish.  To make it easier on me, I found a self-publishing company that would do most of the work for me—design my interior and cover, and do the marketing. Just as I was about to pay for their services, God stopped me again and told me to do it on my own. Again, I became disappointed and started to question why God would make it so hard on me.

God ensured me He had a plan. He filled me up with hope as I waited to see how He was going to work it out.

God led my husband to design the cover and led me to do the interior. Both of us never designed a book before, but God was clearly with us. We saw God use our own hands to put it all together. I started to see why God wanted me to take this route. God wanted to give us something beyond our ability so we would come together as a team and rely only on Him. That way God would get all the glory instead of someone else.

God gave me what I needed to put my hope and trust in Him. He worked my disappointments out for my good. I may not understand everything right now, but I know His plan will be greater than I anticipate. If I would have let those disappointments keep me down and paralyze me, I wouldn’t have been able to move forward in the direction God wanted me to take.

Sustain me according to your promise, and I will live; do not let my hopes be dashed.

—Psalm 119:116

I am happy to announce the book is now for sale at https://www.createspace.com/3652158. It will be coming soon to Amazon and other online retailers, as well as an ebook.

To thank you all for your support, I am giving $2.00 off this book for the month of September. Follow the link and enter coupon code EDQDFFL3 to receive the discount.

In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed.

—Psalm 22:4-5

If you are disappointed today, be encouraged that God will turn your disappointments around for your good if you put your trust and hope in Him alone.

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**Prayer for the week**

Father,

We praise You that You comfort us when we are down. Thank You for filling us with hope as we trust You to work all things together for our good when we live for You. Help us not to let our disappointments keep us down and paralyze us from moving forward in Your will. Help us to cast all our cares, worries, and disappointments on You, and to put our trust solely in You.

We praise You in Jesus’ precious name, Amen!

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*Come back next Monday as I share more of God’s Truths and the reasons behind the Truths.

*All Bible verses are taken from the NIV, unless otherwise noted.