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Listen while you read: "Seeking The Lost"1 (Lyrics) |
Psalm 119:116 – Lord, sustain me as you promised, that I may live! Do not let my hope be crushed. (NLT)
We sat in a small group and talked about appointments and disappointment, and how, when hope is crushed, we experience frustration.
When I have an appointment, someone has agreed to meet me at a particular time, or I've agreed to meet them. Disappointment is the difference between my expectations and what happens.
If my doctor's appointment is cancelled when I really need to see him, I'm disappointed. If I expect my children to succeed in school and college and they don't, I'm disappointed. If I'm looking for a pay increase and don't get one, I'm disappointed. When I do everything that I should to promote good health, only to find out that I have a terminal illness, I'm disappointed.
Disappointment and crushed hope have been friends of mine quite a few times. They showed up when my son decided to quit school. They walked in when a spouse walked out. They came when my drooling over a new car was sopped up by the salesman who said that my credit rating wasn't high enough for a loan. Again they appeared when I was told that someone else had been hired for the job.
For a shepherd, disappointments might be different. Perhaps the sheep didn't produce as much wool as he had hoped. Or a wild animal killed a few of his prize animals. Maybe one wandered too close to the edge of the mountain and fell to its death — or ate poisonous weeds.
If I'm not careful, bitterness can stroll in when my hopes are crushed. Unfortunately, there are few things in life that I can control. The forces of nature or the actions of others control everything else. I can, however, remember that God is in control no matter how bleak my circumstances appear.
God is never disappointed — or surprised. He knows everything that's going to happen. He orchestrates world events and the situations in my life. Believing in His unconditional love helps us to navigate the disappointments of life without their crushing our hopes.
Don't let life's disappointments crush your hopes. Trust God for the best.
Prayer: Father, guide us to look to You when circumstances attempt to crush our hopes. Amen.
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Thank you for your very meaningful devotional today.
Amen Martin. Life is hard but God is good.
Blessings.
Amen and Amen Thank you for this great reminder.
(Texas)
He IS faithful! Bless you for reminding me!
Blessings from North of the border!
Thank you, Martin, for sharing this encouraging devotional with us. Hope, yes! Disappointment, not relished at all. Blessings.
Thanks Martin, this so mirrors my life and I’m sure many others, may this devotional help in our struggles. Blessings to you and your family.
Thank you, Martin. I identify with your lists of disappointments! But I can also look back and see where many of those worked out for the best, God’s timing, not mine.
OH!! Tell this to the parents of the children slaughtered this week in Nashville!!! God orchestrated that, you are saying?? What God? Not the God that I worship through Jesus.
Spectacular devotional!!
Thank you for the reminder to never let life disappointments crush our hopes!
Have a blessed day!
Very good devotion, Martin. It hit home with me as two of my daughters were diagnosed with cancer. I was disappointed for sure. This can’t be happening, but it did, with one daughter being diagnosed as terminal. Thanks for sharing!
Hi. Question: Does God know everything that is going to happen? Or does God stand beside us through the bad and good that life deals our way? I think God hopes for the best from his or her creations, but I fear we let God down often enough. Thanks for the message.
Thanks, Martin, for reminding us to trust in God’s care when things disappoint us and don’t happen the way we would like. God’s response to happenings in our life does end up being for the better in the long run and for His ways we need be thankful. Blessings for these special writings you prepare.
Bonjour Martin,
This morning’s devotional is enlightening by succinctly naming and expressing a remedy for frequent occurrences: “Disappointment is the difference between my expectations and what happens.”
Merci.
Our Hope is in the Lord.