| Dealing with Disappointment |
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Each of us has hopes and dreams for our lives. God actually designed us to be goal- and vision-oriented. Proverbs 29:18 says that without a vision we actually perish. So it's not a bad thing to have plans, goals and desires for our lives. But what happens when those plans are diverted? Proverbs 13:12 says that hope differed makes the heart sick. Your heart can become sick with disappointments and you don’t even realize it.
Disappointment is a part of life that every person deals with. Our kids disappoint us; our spouse disappoints us; our friends disappoint us; we even disappoint ourselves. Left unchecked, these disappointments build up and begin to dam up the River of Life that God desires to flow through us. We must regularly ask the Holy Spirit to shine the light of Truth into our hearts and dislodge the hurts, disappointments, and offenses that threaten to cut off the fruit of God's Spirit in our lives. Bearing good fruit is God's greatest desire for our lives (John 15) and so it is no wonder that Satan works overtime to dump garbage there! What we do with it greatly affects our life and the lives of those around us. All those little foxes destroy the vine of our lives!
Don't be afraid to be honest about what you're dealing with. When we agree with God, His grace empowers us to do that which we cannot do on our own. And I don't care how much you try, you can never overcome without the Holy Spirit's Help. Apart from Him you can do NOTHING!
I pray that today the River of Living Water will well up inside of you and dislodge all the hurts and disappointments in your life. I ask the Holy Spirit to work within you to bring healing and restoration to your body, mind, soul and spirit. May you be filled with the fullness of God's love and may your life abound with lots of good, healthy fruit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, meekness, gentleness, and self-control! (Gal. 5:22-23). May you be empowered by God in your inner being so that you may be completely flooded with His grace, His power and His peace.
Tim Carlisle
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