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Have you ever been crippled by feelings of disappointment? There have been many times that I have been left feeling disappointed by others and I have learned 7 ways to handle disappointment.
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Prayer should always be our go-to response but all too often, it is the last thing we do. We need to seek comfort from the Lord by crying out to Him in prayer. The Bible says in 1 John 5:14, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”
I do know, however, how hard it can be to pray when we are feeling let down and disappointed by others. We can feel so angry and hurt that we can’t even find the strength to pray; that is exactly what the enemy wants – he wants us to run from God when we are in despair but I want to encourage you to run to Him. Pray and tell Him how you feel.
There have been many times that I have desperately cried out to God and pleaded for His help because the pain was just so unbearable and let me tell you, it is amazing how prayer can immediately give you a sense of calm and peace.
You can automatically feel God’s presence and hear Him say to you, “I am here, my child!” Prayer is a beautiful and loving connection that you have with your Heavenly Father, embrace it.
The Serenity Prayer is a powerful prayer that you can pray during times of disappointment. You can get a Free Serenity Prayer Printable in the Calm Down Kit.
The Scriptures speak straight to our heart and reminds us that God is there. Psalm 34:18 says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and is close to those who are crushed in spirit.” This verse has given me so much comfort and peace during my toughest times.
The Bible is God’s love letter to us and when we are struggling with disappointment, we need to be reminded of His love for us. Even though it may seem like He is far away, the Lord is close to you and He will never leave you or forsake you.
If you have read any of my posts, by now you would have realised that I am a massive fan of Journaling. I created the “Lord, Comfort Me” 5 Day Devotional Journal, when I was feeling extremely disappointed and hurt.
I was searching the Scriptures for answers and needed God’s guidance – the verses in the Devotional stood out to me and He showed me that He would be my comfort during this time. I created the Journal section so that I could reflect on the Scriptures and write down my thoughts and feelings. I have another post that talks about How to use Journaling for Emotional Healing.
As I was journaling and studying the Scriptures, I realised that there would be many others feeling this way and the Lord prompted me to write 5 short Devotionals to share with others. This is the power of the Lord; He used my suffering as a tool to help others and I hope you will be able to find His comfort in your disappointment.
I truly believe that this is, by far, one of the biggest challenges we face, as Christians. We are encouraged to stay grateful, be thankful and count our blessings when we are going through tough times – sometimes this can come naturally to us and other times, it can be a real struggle.
It is hard to stay joyful when we are faced with trials in our live but Paul tells us in Philippians, to “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” (Phil. 1:2-3)
Times of disappointment will test our faith but that, in turn, will produce steadfastness. With each disappointment, comes greater strength.
Shifting our focus onto God’s goodness changes everything. When we understand that God is in control and know the plans He has for our lives, we can learn to trust Him and seek His wonderful face.
God is GOOD.
God is JUST.
God is LOVING.
God is FAITHFUL.
God is our ROCK.
God is our REFUGE.
Even though it may not feel like it at the time, God is there. He is waiting with open arms to give us His peace, His comfort and His strength. Focus on Him and His goodness – His plan isn’t to bring harm to you, it is to prosper you and give you a hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)
Number 6 of the 7 ways to handle disappointment is to forgive and let go. We have to learn the art of forgiveness if we want to heal from the disappointment. We need to realise that people will hurt us, people will disappoint us, people will let us down BUT GOD never will. The Bible tells us to forgive others when they have wronged us and there is power in doing this. Read my post, Find Freedom in Forgiving Others and learn to embrace the power of forgiveness.
While it is good to seek comfort and guidance from the Lord, I do think that we should also be seeking support from those around us – spouse, trusted friend or family member, pastor, someone at church, professional (doctor, counsellor etc.) God has placed these people in our lives for a reason and when we feel supported and receive godly counsel, we can heal and move forward a lot quicker.
