You'll Never Have to Stay in the Pit

by rebekahbeene

…In You they trusted and were not disappointed. Psalm 22:5

An acquaintance is having problems with disappointment. It’s tough. We’ve talked. We’ve prayed. To say she is disappointed is putting it mildly. She is crushed. She is sick at heart. She is not sure if God really understands her feelings or can help her with the pain. She has tried different things but even in her concessions to the problem she is not finding an answer, so she is stuck in a huge pit of disappointment and isn’t sure if her heart will ever heal. 

Disappointment is painful. Whether it’s work related, ministry related or family related, we are all susceptible to it. No one is immune. No one goes through life without it coming their way. Disappointment brings with it frustration, distress, disillusionment. It comes when we have high hopes that are dashed on the rocks of someone else’s choices. It appears when we hopefully ask for one thing and get given another. It rears its head when we have high hopes that are met with discouraging answers. 

It can come as well when we have sought the Lord. We ask and petition and pour our hearts out before Him yet the situation does not change. We are full of hope when we begin the request but after a while we are discouraged. No answer comes and we begin to feel disillusionment. We get frustrated with the one(s) who are not responding the way we pray. We get frustrated with God when He doesn’t give us that petition we ask of. If we’re not careful we will find ourselves in a downward spiral of regret and fear. Regret that things are the way they are and fear that the situation will never change.

Oh beloved, it’s time to trade in that old broken record of disappointment. It will play on and on until you feel deafened by the noise. You are not bound by disappointment. You are not bound to feel disappointment. You are not bound by the results of disappointment. You are bound to the Lord! He has your best in mind and every single time you feel the disappointment you can trade it in for His appointment! Yes, God knows. Yes, God is aware. And God has something in mind for your good through every situation you encounter. While you cannot see beyond the disappointment, He does. While you cannot see the answer, He will surely answer. While you just want your circumstances to change, He wants you to grow closer to Him. 

Get out the Word of God and make it personal! Speak it aloud over your life. Speak it into your prayers. Post it everywhere. Take it in as your necessary nourishment for it will slake the thirst of disappointment every single time. God loves you and He’s for you and that’s all that really matters as you walk in His appointments while casting away your disappointments. Your steps are light and your heart is bright, as you lean on Him for all your needs and give Him all your cares.

Psalm 22:5 To You they cried out and were delivered; in You they trusted and were not disappointed.

Romans 10:11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed”

Psalm 6:2 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am pining away; Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are dismayed.

Psalm 31:15a My times are in Your hand…

Psalm 139:16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.

1 Peter 5:7 …casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

God's Plans for You Are Right on Time

I wanted snow. Not 10 inches but enough to make snow ice cream. I’m just a little disappointed. But I was home this week-end and would have enjoyed it. Usually when it snows I’m looking for a can of condensed milk and find none. This year I’ve been ready all winter. There are extra cans waiting in the cabinet. But no snow to go with the milk. I’m prepared but there’s nothing happening.

Ever feel prepared for something yet nothing happens? You know in your heart it’s something you really want and you’ve done everything to be ready. Yet it does not appear. Disappointment wants to knock on the door of your heart and walk right in and take over. It could be a job, a boyfriend, a marriage, a house, a past-time, a ministry, a dream. You’ve prepared and made everything ready on your end but the answer doesn’t come through. You start to wonder. Questions come. You ask yourself if you did something wrong, if you missed the boat, if God was not aware of your dreams and plans.

Disappointment isn’t something you want to let in. The trouble with disappointment is it brings friends with it. Entertain disappointment and you’ll find yourself feeling depressed, and ultimately in despair. Satan will use disappointment that settles in your heart to convince you that you missed God. Or that God missed you. The tactic of the enemy is to use situations that are temporary and convince you they are permanent.

Snow will eventually fall here again. It’s just not going to happen right now. Do I give up? Do I throw out the canned milk? Do I curse the snow and refuse to believe? No. I refer to the truth. I defer to the truth.

With every situation we find ourselves in we must defer to God. He alone knows the why, the when and the where. But He says He has plans for us and they are good. So, we don’t answer the door when the disappointment comes. We replace disappointment with the knowledge that it is HIS appointment that counts. All our appointments are kept right on time by an On time God! We shut the mouth of the enemy by praising God. Praising God for delays that give way to His wonderful ways – right on time.

Oh beloved! This is not the time to give up. This is the time to spend time with Jesus. Praising Him. Worshipping Him. Responding to Him. Letting Him speak His truth into your heart. Reading His Word, over and over again. Finding the Scriptures that speak to your heart and living in their light. Everything else wants to let darkness take over – your mind and your senses are reeling because what you thought would happen hasn’t happened. But your spirit responds to God’s Word with His Truth to lift you out of despair and into His presence of glory and peace. Don’t spend another moment cursing what should have been, but begin to praise Him for what is going to be! You will find that your burden of disappointment can’t stay in the presence of praise. This is the time to be full of joy and peace as you wait for the Father to fulfill His plans for you in His time. 

God loves you and He’s for you and all His plans are good and right on time. Keep praying for His plans to come through and watch as He will never disappoint you ever. You can dance with joy as you wait in His presence for His plans to come to light.

Psalm 23:6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart. AMP

Psalm 52:9 I will give You thanks forever, because You have done it, And I will wait on Your name, for it is good, in the presence of Your godly ones.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 27:14 Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.

Psalm 16:11 You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

Out on a Ledge?

I’ve never stood on a ledge of a tall building. You’re not likely to ever see me there. But there are plenty of movies, old and new, that showcase the hero on the ledge. The wind is whipping his clothes and the police are usually below, “Don’t jump!” they holler. Others are trying to get up to the roof of the building to grab the victim before he can fall to his death.

There’s often someone who has the credentials to attempt to talk the victim down. The hope is to get him to climb off the ledge to the roof or into the window to safety.

He’s a victim because he believes there’s no other way to get notice, to be heard or to prove His point. He’s been run up a tree like a cat and he’s ready to lose it all. He probably feels that he has lost it already. Talking the victim down makes for success- he’s saved, they’re relieved and the story ends on a good note.

Ever feel like you’re out on the ledge? Life is tough. Things are not going well. Nobody’s listening. Nobody cares. You’ve tried to work through it, meditate on it, look past it and make yourself forget. But the troubles, the trials, the situations of life keep coming. People disappoint you, jobs don’t last, health fails, love wanes, bills increase. Answers don’t come. Help doesn’t come. And now you’re out on a ledge and you don’t know what to do. Friends can talk to you but they don’t know what you’re feeling. The bank can give you a loan, but you don’t get permanent relief. Doctors know what they’re doing, but no promises are written in stone. It’s tough, it’s rough and it’s just about to the point where it’s not worth it.

But in steps One Who has the credentials. The One Who breathed the stars and set the planets in orbit is stepping into the scene. The Lord Jesus Himself is there. Everything changes when He steps into the situation, when He walks on the water of your situation.  For He has been sent on assignment just for you.

What you and I cannot hope to do, beloved, He can do. He won’t talk you down, but He will talk you through. And that’s amazing. Because He’s an amazing God, He enters into every problem, every trial, every hurt, every fear and calms the raging storm.  

Listen beloved, I know you are in the storm of your life. The diagnosis, the prognosis, the bank account, the rejection letter, the impossible are all whipping around you as you stand on the ledge. I know it’s hard and I know it’s scary. But I also know the Savior and He is able to take every single thing that’s going on in your life and talk you through it. He’ll not only talk you through it, He’s coming out on the ledge with you to walk you through it.

Oh beloved, whatever it is this morning that has taken your breath away or knocked the wind from your sails, run to the Father of Lights, for there’s no shadow or shifting with Him. He changes not, His compassions fail not. GREAT IS HIS FAITHFULNESS. Your life may feel like shifting sand, your heart may be in the shadows of fear or regret or uselessness, but God never changes.

He will take your situation and take you by the hand and walk you through the darkness and back into the light. All the while He will talk to you in love songs of devotion and tender, loving care. He will get you through this and your feet will again be on solid ground. Why? Because He is God, He is Abba Father, He is I AM and He is love. Trust Him today and walk securely in His presence and listen to His voice for it is always calming, peaceful and True. Oh how He loves you, oh how He cares and that’s the solid ground of your life all the way to eternity.

Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.  He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed.

Mark 4:39 When Jesus woke up, He rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm.

Psalm 23:4 Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for You are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.

James 1:17 Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.

Lamentations 3:22-23 The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning.

 

Don't Be Disappointed by Delays! God is on the Throne!

My disappointment of yesterday morning’s realization that my expected gift had not come gave way to joy yesterday afternoon as I opened my mailbox. The package had come! I opened it to find within a lovely handmade glass ornament! The opening of the box also revealed who had been given my name.  I was hoping that my box was just delayed and I was right.  It was worth it to finally get the package and place the little bauble on my Christmas tree.  The photo in this post is my ornament!, given to me by Cineca Newburn, of Dreamin n Details.

When the package didn’t come in my prescribed timing I could have said, forget it! I’m not going to the mailbox anymore. I’m done.  I could have convinced myself it was futile to keep hoping, looking and seeking the mailbox.  It could have come anytime, it was the postal service’s business to get the package to me. But had I quit looking, would I ever have known my gift had arrived? So many variables are working at the post office – sometimes those packages get mishandled, accidentally shoved aside, delivered to the wrong address and more…  Lots of things happen between the sending and the receiving.

Even at this holiday season we are dealing with discouraging disappointments and lingering delays. Some things we may have prayed about at length, knowing God’s mind, yet not seeing the answer. There are times when you and I just want to throw our hands up and walk away.  Other times we don’t understand why the circumstances of our prayer life and our human life don’t just come together.   Many variables occur in the spirit realm as well.  We’re up against a huge war in the heavenlies. We don’t know how the answers get batted around as they come from the throne to our hearts and lives.

Does God work through human error? Can His will be done in spite of good old boy systems, fleshly desires or an individual’s self-will? 

Oh beloved, God wants to speak to your heart this morning and encourage you! Unlike postal workers, He never clocks out, He never walks away from the job and He never mishandles a single thing! When you’re up against the wall, He’s there. When you’re down and out, He’s with you. When you’re fervently praying and seeking His face alone, He’s with you all the way.  He doesn’t just answer prayer, He’s not a mailbox you just reach into for your gift, He IS THE GIFT!  He is not just the giver of answers, He IS THE ANSWER!  The Lord of Heaven and Earth is so much bigger than prayers that seem to go unanswered. He’s so much stronger than your weakest moment. He’s being your wildest imagination!

Keep praying! Keep seeking! Keep believing that God is not bound by mortal weaknesses, other peoples’ fleshly thinking, or any other thing in all creation! He knew you before the foundation of the world and if He did then He knew then what you would need, and He knows when the answer will come and ultimately He knows the outcome for every single person on this earth. Oh how He loves you! Oh how He’s for you! And oh how that’s all that really matters! Hallelujah to our King!

Psalm 4:3  You can be sure of this: The LORD set apart the godly for himself. The LORD will answer when I call to him.

Psalm 56:9  My enemies will retreat when I call to You for help. This I know: God is on my side!

Psalm 145:18  The LORD is close to all who call on Him, yes, to all who call on Him in truth.

Matthew 6:10  May Your Kingdom come soon. May Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.

Isaiah 65:24 I will answer them before they even call to Me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers!

 

 

 

Visit Cineca's site at http://www.dreaminndetails.com/

You can also visit Kara MacElyea's blog, http://unusualform.blogspot.com/ and see the photos of my gift to her. While you're at it, why don't you also visit the Arkansas Women Bloggers' site to see all the ornaments that were exchanged at http://arkansaswomenbloggers.com/.