Five Verses to Deal with Disappointment

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We all feel it at some time or another...the ache of not getting what we want. Our hopes dashed. These past few years I have been learning that life doesn't always turn out the way you hoped it would. Dreams die with no way to recover what is lost. The only option is to move forward on a different path...a path that requires trust...

When disappointment comes how do you handle it? Me? I tend to pout {even if it is internally} and push forward with my original hope even when it isn't wise. God has been teaching me through my Word of the Year {HOPE} that I need to not place my hope in my dreams, other people, or my personal plans. Hope should land in only one place...in God Himself. When our dreams don't turn out as hoped we should put our trust in the One with the perfect plan.

Here are a few "Verses of Hope" I have been camping on lately to help me deal with life's disappointments.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11  I know this verse is used over and over again in Christian circles, but it is a great reminder that when our dreams and plans don't pan out God is still in control. Even if what is happening to us looks like harm, God can use it for a greater purpose.

Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you have planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare. Psalm 40:5  I have camped out on this verse time and again. When it comes right down to it He has a plan for our lives. There have been times when I fought His plan only to come to find out years later that it was exactly what I needed.

These were all commended for their faith, yet not of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. Hebrews 11:39-40 What a comfort to know that the great men and women in the Hall of Faith faced disappointment. They were even promised certain things which they never were able to experience this side of heaven. God's plan for our lives is bigger than we could ever imagine and may stretch beyond our time here on earth.

For I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. Philippians 1:19 This verse has been an anchor for me since 2013 {a year filled with disappointment}. I have learned to lean in to Christ and trust that whatever goes down can have God's fingerprints all over it. He can take the disappointment and make it a divine appointment in our lives.

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. I Thessalonians 5:18  Gratitude won't change our circumstances, but it can change our heart about our circumstances. A few years back I started giving thanks even for the grief and ache I was experiencing. The giving of thanks never did change what happened, but it changed me. I could accept the disappointment and not let it ruin my heart.

Earlier this year I went through this devotional on waiting on God which is really all about where we put our hope. Hope in our plans will only disappoint us. Hope in God never does. You can find  Wait Only Upon God: 40 Days of Praying the Scriptures in the Waiting in hard copy form here or you can download it here. If you are dealing with disappointment this is an excellent way to refocus on where to put your hope.

Need more hope that won't disappoint?  See my Verses of Hope.