xoxo, Sam
Here's Tracie!!“For you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” Psalm 25:5b (NIV)
I spent months working on it, with big expectations and high hopes. But in the blink of an eye, it was crushed. This reality tore into my heart like a jagged knife, ripping my dream into tiny little shreds. Disappointment was so great; it was difficult to process my feelings. I had worked tirelessly on this project and now I was not only feeling disappointment, but rejection.
Disappointment soon turned to irritation, then resentment. I didn’t FEEL it was fair.
Why didn’t God answer my prayers? Why had He placed a dream in my heart only to allow it to crumble? Why had He let this happen? Why me?
I knew I needed to have a good attitude and not give up, but I did not FEEL like doing that at all!
Questions continued to pummel my brain. What is the use? Why try again? If God didn’t answer my prayer after all this time, why bother to keep trying?
You see, I allowed my feelings to overtake my mind, and let my FAITH take a back seat.
All I could think about was how this disappointment made me feel, instead of what God may be doing that my faith could not see. I felt things weren’t fair, without remembering God’s ways are best. I felt a longing for immediate results, instead of trusting God’s timing is perfect.
I soon realized my feelings were getting in the way of my faith. So I went to Psalm 25 (NIV), and allowed the following verses to wash over my spirit.
Verse 1, “To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;”
I felt discouraged, unworthy, hopeless, rejected. So I poured my feelings and my soul out to God. And He listened.
Verse 2, “…in you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me.”
God reminded me to trust Him, not a desire or a dream. Not the world’s view of things. Not my abilities. Not my timeframe. Not my ideas. Just Him. I prayed about my enemies – intangible feelings such as self doubt, insecurities, frustration, and discouragement.
Verse 3, “No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame, but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse.”
Regardless of whether or not my desires become a reality, I will not be put to shame, because God is my God. If His plans coincide with my dreams, I know He will keep His eternal promises.
Verses 4-5a, “Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me,”
These words stopped me in my tracks. I began to think more rationally. Why have I been beating my head against a wall? Why have I been consumed with anxiety and frustration? Am I allowing God to direct my paths? God gently reminded me that He is the teacher; we are the students.
Verse 5b, “…for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.”
If I put my hope in my own desires and abilities, I simply set myself up for failure. My only hope for joy and fulfillment comes from Christ alone. Hope can only be found in Him, not people, careers, husbands, children, church, financial success, a carefree life, or dreams that come true.
Disappointments will always happen. With God, however, we can turn those disappointments into God’s appointments to trust Him. The first step is exercise our faith over our feelings.
Dear Lord, You know the hurt in my heart and the sting of disappointments I have experienced. Please help me trust You, instead of being consumed by feelings. Empower me with a faith that is stronger than my emotions. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Unpack Psalm 25:1-5 and apply it to your situation, with open ears to hear God’s voice.
Are you allowing feelings to guide actions, or relying on faith to help you move forward?
Have you asked God how He can use your disappointments to strengthen faith in Him?
Psalm 78:7, “That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments.” (KJV)
6 comments:
Beautiful reminder for us. I've always loved Psalm 25. Several years ago, I had one of those aha moments when I wasn't getting what I desired. God's answer to my prayer was no. It dawned on me, at that moment, that Christ knows what I need. He sees the whole picture. I can take comfort in the fact that His plan for my life is much better than the plan I might have.
Thanks Tracie!
Beautiful post Tracie. I had one of those moments several years ago, something was taken away that at the time I did not understand why God would allow such a thing to happen, I was crushed and heartbroken. Six months later it was replaced with something even better and to be honest I didn't think it could get any better than what I had, but it did, He replaced what was taken away with soemthing so much better than I could have dreamed for myself.
Blessings to you Sam and Tracie.
Wow, can I just say the timing of this post was PERFECTION for me! That is God for ya, PERFECTION! Thank you dearest Tracie for letting the Lord speak through you straight to my heart...and thank you sweet sweet Sam for having such a restful, relaxing, life breathing bloggy home! Lots of love!!!! Stephanie
Eileen, you are such a wealth of treasured wisdom! "comfort in His plan being better than mine." Love that!! Thanks for sharing friend!
Wow, Kandi... that is amazing!! Reminds me of when the scriptures tell us God will restore double of what's been taken. Love that! Thanks sweet one!
Stephanie, love God's timing!! Thankful He uses us through Bloggy world, Twitterverse and Facebook to share and encourage! His timing is everything! Praying for peace in the wait. LOVEeeeeee!!!
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