Facing Life’s Disappointments

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness.  –Psalm 30:11 (NKJV) 

Life is full of disappointments.  My wife, Andrea, gets very excited at the prospect of snow, and when the weatherman announced that on Monday we were supposed to get as much as six inches, she was giddy with anticipation.  But alas, the forecast was altered and now the prediction is for only and one to three inches.  Andrea was nearly despondent.  She does so love the snow.  I tried to console her with the gentle reminder that we live in the south, and therefore we don’t get as much snow as people who live in the north.  If it snowed several inches she would be happy, but she will have to settle for what looks like may be a much smaller amount. 

There will be times when we look forward to something, but in the end it doesn’t work out the way we had hoped.  Life has a way of not always happening the way we had planned or wanted, and we have to figure out how we will move forward despite our disappointment.  Faith in Jesus Christ helps us to find the strength to live, be happy, have peace, and be contented in whatever circumstances in which we find ourselves.  Christ empowers us to rise up and move forward during those times when we might otherwise have given up.  In Jesus there is peace and joy even in the midst of the difficulties and disappointments we face.

What sort of disappointments are you facing today?  Were there plans, dreams, aspirations, and hopes that have not materialized?  If you, you are not alone, for the Lord understands that you are struggling and hurting.  By His grace and power God can lift you up and help you to find the peace and joy available in Him.  God brought this about so strongly in David’s life that he proclaimed that God had turned his mourning into dancing.  He had taken off his sackcloth, which was a sign of grief, and had put on a glad and grateful heart.  The Lord can do the same for us. 

Do not despair, and do not look down.  Look up and trust in Christ, for He can and will make our hope live again.  As He has promised, so He will do.