Is your life motto “expect nothing and you will never be disappointed”? That’s not God’s desire for you! Proverbs 13:12 says, “When hope is crushed, the heart is crushed, but a vision come to pass fills you with joy.” Begin to see disappointment through God’s eyes. As an old poem states it, view your disappointments as a divine appointment from God’s hand for a purpose greater than you imagined. My wife and I faced a great disappointment for 12 years of not being able to have children, but from that disappointment came two treasures – two daughters brought into our lives through adoption. Life without them would be unthinkable, yet we would have never had them if it weren’t for the years of disappointment, years that pale in comparison to the joy they bring to our lives.
Tell me, how have you faced some of life’s greatest disappointments? What aspects of God’s nature have you experienced through these times? What truths have held you strong and brought hope back into your life?
Disappointment His Appointment
Disappointment His appointment
Change one letter, then I see
That the thwarting of my purpose
Is Gods better choice for me.
His appointment must be blessing,
Tho it may come in disguise.
For the end from the beginning
Open to His wisdom lies.
Disappointment His Appointment
Whose? The Lord who loves me best
Understands and knows me fully,
Who my faith and love would test;
For, like loving earthly parent,
He rejoices when He knows
That His child accepts unquestioned
All that from His wisdom flows.
Disappointment His appointment,
No good will He withhold,
From denials oft we gather
Treasures of His love untold.
Well He knows each broken purpose
Leads to fuller, deeper trust,
And the end of all His dealings
Proves our God is wise and just.
Disappointment His appointment,
Lord, I take it, then, as such
Like clay in hands of the potter,
Yielding wholly to Thy touch.
My life’s plan is Thy molding,
Not one single choice be mine,
Let me answer unrepining
Father, not my will, but Thine.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Walking through infertility myself the fact that God loved me perfectly became the greatest comfort to me – Perfect love casts out fear! Through many of other lifes disappointments this has been a comfort to me. Also, the poem below has carried me through so much!
Sit Still, My Daughter!
J. Danson Smith
Sit still, my daughter! Just sit calmly still!
Nor deem these days—these waiting days—as ill!
The One who loves thee best, who plans thy way,
Hath not forgotten thy great need today!
And if He waits, ’tis sure He waits to prove
To thee, His tender child, His heart’s deep love.
Sit still, my daughter! Just sit calmly still!
Thou longest much to know thy dear Lord’s will!
While anxious thoughts would almost steal their way,
Corrodingly within, because of His delay—
Persuade thyself in simply faith to rest,
That He, who knows and loves, will do the best.
Sit still, my daughter! Just sit calmly still!
Nor move a step, not even one, until
His way hath opened. Then, ah, then, how sweet!
How glad thy heart, and then how swift thy feet!
Thy inner being then, ah, then, how strong!
And waiting days not counted then too long.
Sit still, my daughter! Just sit calmly still!
What higher service could’st thou for Him fill?
’Tis hard! Ah, yes! But choicest things must cost!
For lack of losing all how much is lost!
’Tis hard, ’tis true! But then—He giveth grace
To count the hardest spot the sweetest place.
Hi Pastor Frank,
I am so glad I read this today , right now Ray and I both are facing unemployment , and I realized that the good job offers that come I need to have a better attitude and expect to get these offers, we are awaiting a great job offer from Coca Cola for Ray He has been umemployed for six months, and I was going with the attitude Im claiming that job for him , but in my mind is , I dont want to be dissapointed! I know that sounds very mixed up .
But than with all the other disspointments we have had over the years, not able to get a home, last y ear God provided us with a house He wont let us down , so I am right now asking forgiveness from the Lord for sending mixed signals, I dont want to feel like my heart is crushed anymore I want joy in my life.
Hello Frank,
My husband lost his job 16 months ago and then we had to walk away from our house we owned for 11 years (the only home our children knew)then we lost our medical insurance. It seemed at the time all was lost…but…it has been one of the most wonderful experiences in our 25 years of marriage, we see now nothing has been lost only gained. We have not walked this journey alone God has been so faithful on this journey and the Joy of the Lord has carried us through. This chapter in our lives continues we do not no the ending…but we do know God is faithful. We have God, we have one another, we have our church and we have our children we are truly blessed.