“Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:21 NIV).
REDIRECTING DISAPPOINTMENT
“That’s not what I imagined in my mind,” I say. Then I wished I had spent the extra four dollars to have the package professionally gift-wrapped. I can barely make a bow with my shoelaces.
What is it about our visions and reality that sets them as far apart as night and day?
I watched the Olympian turn sorrowful eyes toward his teammate. The gold had been but a breath away. But like that instant between sleep and wakefulness, someone snatched victory from his grasp. Someone else reaped the glory while he would forever remain someone who also swam. Like a raised scar, a scathing loss never leaves us. And the pain is real. Often times, though, the sting of disappointment is eased through God’s redirection in our lives.
Tom and Jane waited anxiously for the word on their loan request. The home seemed perfect. They were fast outgrowing their tiny apartment. How desperately they wanted a yard for the children to play in. When the bank turned down their request for a seemingly stupid reason, they were devastated. Two weeks later, Tom learned his company was transferring him. The house would have been a stumbling block to the move that also brought a promotion. God sometimes disrupts our plans because he has other plans, better plans than we could have ever thought possible.
The adage, “God doesn’t close a door without opening a window,” simply means that disappointment won’t leave us dead in our tracks. In a popular Christian song, “Day Star Shine Down On Me,” the writer asks God to make him a reflection of God’s light. In the chorus, the songster remarks, “You can take what’s wrong and make it right.” Redirection from disappointment brings blessings that would otherwise never be experienced. The way we confront our disappointment might also bless another in turn.
Sometimes, like Jacob, our disappointment is not of our doing but is the result of another’s thoughtlessness or greed Jacob approached his wedding night with great hopes. Finally, after working for seven years. His beloved Rachel would be his. How surprised he must have been to look behind the veil and find his beloved’s sister had become his wife instead. Although, he did finally obtain his heart’s desire, God allowed the disappointment to redirect Jacob’s life. In so doing, he became the third in a prestigious line of Patriarchs, the father of the twelve tribes of Israel.
When disappointment comes, we do a have choice. We can wallow in despair. Cry, “Foul! Unfair!” We can vent our anger and seek revenge upon the one who wronged us. When we fail to meet our own expectations, we can flail ourselves with emotional insults. Or we can seek God’s council in the face of disappointment. We can allow him to shower us with the grace to forgive, even ourselves. We can trust his redirection.
REDIRECTING DISAPPOINTMENT
“That’s not what I imagined in my mind,” I say. Then I wished I had spent the extra four dollars to have the package professionally gift-wrapped. I can barely make a bow with my shoelaces.
What is it about our visions and reality that sets them as far apart as night and day?
I watched the Olympian turn sorrowful eyes toward his teammate. The gold had been but a breath away. But like that instant between sleep and wakefulness, someone snatched victory from his grasp. Someone else reaped the glory while he would forever remain someone who also swam. Like a raised scar, a scathing loss never leaves us. And the pain is real. Often times, though, the sting of disappointment is eased through God’s redirection in our lives.
Tom and Jane waited anxiously for the word on their loan request. The home seemed perfect. They were fast outgrowing their tiny apartment. How desperately they wanted a yard for the children to play in. When the bank turned down their request for a seemingly stupid reason, they were devastated. Two weeks later, Tom learned his company was transferring him. The house would have been a stumbling block to the move that also brought a promotion. God sometimes disrupts our plans because he has other plans, better plans than we could have ever thought possible.
The adage, “God doesn’t close a door without opening a window,” simply means that disappointment won’t leave us dead in our tracks. In a popular Christian song, “Day Star Shine Down On Me,” the writer asks God to make him a reflection of God’s light. In the chorus, the songster remarks, “You can take what’s wrong and make it right.” Redirection from disappointment brings blessings that would otherwise never be experienced. The way we confront our disappointment might also bless another in turn.
Sometimes, like Jacob, our disappointment is not of our doing but is the result of another’s thoughtlessness or greed Jacob approached his wedding night with great hopes. Finally, after working for seven years. His beloved Rachel would be his. How surprised he must have been to look behind the veil and find his beloved’s sister had become his wife instead. Although, he did finally obtain his heart’s desire, God allowed the disappointment to redirect Jacob’s life. In so doing, he became the third in a prestigious line of Patriarchs, the father of the twelve tribes of Israel.
When disappointment comes, we do a have choice. We can wallow in despair. Cry, “Foul! Unfair!” We can vent our anger and seek revenge upon the one who wronged us. When we fail to meet our own expectations, we can flail ourselves with emotional insults. Or we can seek God’s council in the face of disappointment. We can allow him to shower us with the grace to forgive, even ourselves. We can trust his redirection.
