Articles
Joyfully Disappointed
Joyfully Disappointed
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” — Proverbs 3:5
Did you ever try out for the basketball team and not make it? Did you audition for one of the school’s musicals but were not chosen? Have you interviewed for a job you needed and well qualified to fill yet not hired? The disappointment of not being chosen often crushes our spirit and desire. We often think there must be a “defect” in me. I must have done something wrong, or there is something I should have done differently. Regardless of any change you could make, you still may not have been chosen.
Not every opportunity leads to disappointment. Some people call you for your advice. Someone else wants you to teach a children’s class for six months. You are invited to a Bible study and attend and there you meet your future spouse. You become a clerk at a retail store and learn the virtues of patience, kindness, and hospitality. A farmer has you work in his orchard to pick and deliver apples weekly for a local orphanage.
When we struggle with not being able to reach our “dream” opportunities, the reality is God is working to show us what is best. We assume our way is right. As we rest in Him, His purposes always prove to be for our good and His praise. Honestly, that is easy to see when the outcome is better than we had hoped, but difficult when we cannot see the good in a moment of disappointment.
We should give more credit to the words of the song, “Guide me, O Thou Great Jehovah”. “Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah, Pilgrim through this barren land. I am weak, but Thou art mighty; Hold me with Thy powerful hand.” As wise King Solomon said, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6). More trust is just what we need…
