Connecting Disappointment with Discouragment

Considering Disappointment

Disappointments are part of life, like it or not, and how we respond is what matters.

When we put all of our eggs in the basket labeled "human beings," we will inevitably be disappointed.

People may not intend to be misunderstood, but they are.

People may not intend to hurt, but still they do.

People may not intend to injure, but still they do.

People may not intend what happens, but still it happens.

So long as we seek our contentment, joy, happiness, in human relationships, we will reap some disappointments.

Thankfully there is One who will never disappoint, never disillusion;

One who calls for us to come to Him, to bring our burdens, sorrows;

One who will, when necessary, discipline His own.

Never will He disappoint, for He has appointed all we will experience, all the days He has ordained for us.

When Disappointment Comes

When disappointment comes, look at it closely and say,
"I shall turn you away;
I shall choose instead to pray,
'Forgive me for wanting to have my way.'"

When disappointment wants to stay,
Turn it out and lock the door and pray,
"Let me have instead Your way,
In this and all that comes today."

When disappointment tries to come in some other guise,
Be wise and at any cost do not let it in--
Tell it to get lost,
And fall again on your knees and say,
"Let me see things Your way through this day."

Look rather for all the ways the Lord is good;
Choose not to feel misunderstood
Or unappreciated or unloved--
Look at God and His gifts from above.

Choose, for Christian, now you can.
Choose and stand;
Choose and stand.

As I was thinking about the subjects of disappointment and discouragement, it seemed to me that if we don't  deal with disappointment, it often works its way into discouragement.

Disappointment and Discouragement

Disappointment and discouragement--like so many other emotions--often seem to set in after something positive has happened to us.

Think of Elijah. Think of the Psalmists. Think of Jeremiah. Think of Charles Spurgeon.

What, or more accurately, Who helped each one to recover from their disappointment and discouragement?

Remembering the Lord. His goodness and His faithfulness are the keys.  We see it in Psalms 42 and 43 with the recurring motif: "Hope in God for I shall yet praise Him." We see it in Lamentations 3: "This I call to mind, therefore I have hope. The LORD's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, says my soul, therefore I have hope in Him" (vv. 21-24).

Meditations on a Tuesday Morning

In the beginning God,

And through all time,
Both outside and inside of time,
The Holy and Divine,

Our Father who is in heaven

Created the heavens and the earth
With purpose and with glory and with perfection.

Hallowed be Your name

--let me recognize that Your Name is Holy already and behave accordingly.

Your kingdom come,

Your will be done

--am I willing to see that?
--am I willing to participate in that?
--am I willing to obey that?

On earth as it is in heaven

--immediately
--joyfully
--fully
--reverently

Give us this day

--not yesterday
--not tomorrow

Our daily bread

--this reminds me of these verses:
Proverbs 30:7-9:
"Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die:
Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me. Lest I be full and deny You and say, 'Who is the Lord?' or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God."

And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors

--presupposes a willingness to forgive on our part
--and times without number

And lead us not into temptation
--to quote James:
"Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am being tempted by God,' for God cannot be tempted with evil, and He Himself tempts no one."

but deliver us from evil

--"But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death."

For Thine is the kingdom

--eternal kingship
--the realm in which Your will is fulfilled

and the power

--sovereignty
--authority
--jurisdiction
--dominion

and the glory

--praise, honor, distinction
--renown
--worshipful praise, honor, and thanksgiving
--magnificence
--eternity

forever.

Amen.

--Amen.

Thoughts about Peace

I started work on this before the most recent mass shootings.

Peace, according to the world is
"the normal, non-warring condition of a nation, group of nations, or the world" or
"The state existing during the absence of war" or
"Freedom from civil disorder."

Peace according to God, is--
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A priority of His (Isaiah 9:6: "For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will be upon His shoulders; and His name will be called  Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.")

Essential to all relationships (Ephesians 2:13-18: "But now in Christ Jesus you who were formerly far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandment contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one man, thus establishing peace; and might reconcile them both into one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.")

Acquired by repentant faith (Romans 4:23-5:5: "Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which awe stand; and we exulted in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.")

Cultivated with care (Galatians 5:22-23: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.")

Eternally experienced (Matthew 5:3-12: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.  Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the poor in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and say all kinds of evil against you for My sake. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." John 14:27: "Peace I leave with you; My peace I given to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.")

Peace is something we all want, but usually demand it on our terms. Only One could both lay out the terms of peace, both vertically and horizontally, and make peace possible.

Such peace is something our hearts yearn for, but it can be had only on God's terms. Grind your teeth at the thought? He isn't obligated to make peace with rebels such as we are. That He deigns to offer peace should cause us to agree to the terms, whatever they are.

What astounds me is that He not only determined the terms, but has seen to it that they are already fulfilled. How could that be? A holy God and a far-from-holy person have nothing in common.

That is why a gracious and merciful God decided on His own to bring about the Incarnation, giving His only Son to live a life that would fulfill all the requirements of the Law and then suffer the death of a criminal. God, having raised Christ from the dead, verifies and authenticates His acceptance of this sacrifice. This salvation is for both Jew and Gentile alike, as Scripture above notes.

Repentant faith will make this peace yours.

The Peace of God

The peace of God is like
The pearl of great price:
Flawless and costly,
Desirable above all,
Rare yet available,
For He has already paid
That price that we might
Not only obtain but keep it,
Eternity to eternity,
If we will only give up our temporal "things."