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Dealing with Disappointments

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Let us read James 1:5-8

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. ESV

What do you do when you are overwhelmed? 

Disappointments are the collision between our expectations and experiences, while ignoring the signposts of God’s promises.

Our expectations will collide with our experiences and then create a wrecked life of self-pity and resentment. Or, that can lead to a triumphant life. The choice is ours and the key is where we look for our hope! This is about our circumstances and how we look at our Lord. How we see adversity and His sovereignty will totally affect how we learn and deal with it (Phil 1:27-30).

Unanchored stress and disappointments along with detachment from looking to God will take us away from seeing His signposts of precepts.

Thus, we ignore God’s plan and this dumps us in the middle of a tossed sea (Job 23:10; Rom. 5:3-5; 1 Thess. 5:16-18).

We cannot just expect God to get us through without any effort on our part. To grow, we have to struggle and work it out (Phil. 2). It is the struggle that helps us; that is what builds us and forms us. Without it, there is no growth or real impacting faith, honest character, genuine patience, or maturity (Prov. 3:5-6; 20:30; Job. 36:5; Rom. 8:28-29; 2 Cor. 1:9; 1 Peter 1:6-7).

When we do not rely on God, we are, in fact, not taking care of ourselves by helping Him out; rather, we are insulting Him!

Let’s look at some of these key words!

  • Tossed refers to being unstable, immature, and weak in   faith (Eph. 4:14-16). We can only become un-tossed by the Anchor of who      Christ is in us, and pursuing Him!
  • Sea is a term that drove fear into Jews then; they   did not venture into the ocean, but relied on others to do that in fishing      and commerce (Isa. 57:20).
  • Double  minded refers to being unstable  emotionally and in thoughts, like a split personality or schizophrenia. It  also means to be a person who has two souls in conflict, two desires that      cannot be reconciled, two masters who ask different things at the same      time. This is “I want my will and God’s will.”    This just cannot be!
  • Doubtalong   with double-minded, is also a form of inconsistent living   and hypocrisy, and is greatly condemned by God. It is saying one thing and   doing another (1 Chron. 12:33; Psalm 12:2; Matt. 6:24; James 4:8). This is   also indecision! It is not being willing to make up your mind and go in the  right direction!
  • Unstable. We are called to make decisions based on God’s values  and not our ideas or indecisions. How do our decisions affect others? How  are they relational and beneficial to others and God’s glory?

Take the Initiative! 

We have to take the initiative in our spiritual formation. We must reach out and accept His Hand. Allow Him lead you out. Do not try to swim by yourself, as the waters of life are too strong; the currents and tides of desires and wrong opportunities will overwhelm you. Anticipate what may lie ahead and prepare; this is James’ whole point! Unequivocally, we have to reach out for Christ and Him only! We can choose not to be bitter-rather be better! What we receive from God is good. What we receive from self and others, with personal agendas that are not centered on God, will be bad and distract us from our growth. If we are being real with our spiritual formation, we will realize our need for Christ and our continual need for His wisdom (Matt. 5:3)!

What do I do when I am overwhelmed? 

Are you allured to your previous sins, addictions or dependencies? Are they crying to you and you are yearning for them? Then ask God for help; He is able! Trust in His control! He is the God who can keep us walking above the waves, and keep us alive and going when we are under them! Go through His Word, seek what you can learn, how you can get through, and for wisdom. If we do not learn, all those “waves” will just be a waste, and perhaps we will keep going through them until we do learn (Psalm 142:1-7; John 7:17; 1 Peter 1:6-7).

Do not escalate your situation by complaining, or distort it by denial, bitterness, or isolation!

Do not be dumb, trapped in your own anger and regret. Be smart; be a Christian who learns and grows and who is committed to obedience, spiritual growth, and maturity. Instead of moaning, seek His grace to solve the situation! Do not blame, or seek fault in others or yourself; rather, get on with life and your commitment to Christ. Allow His amazing work in you!

Resistance to God, our bad attitudes, and anger only cause us more harm, choosing for ourselves to be tossed by the seas of life without hope or purpose.

Let Christ be your anchor, or else you will drown and your life will be a series of wasted opportunities. When you could have and should have grown, you will have squandered His call and put your energies into complaints, and your mindsets and attitudes into bitterness and anger. We need to come to the point that we trust in the Lord, regardless of how good or how bad life is, for it is temporary. What we learn will be eternal (John 7:17-18)!

The key is to learn to take your life and your surroundings as they are, and then strive to build them to what they can be for His glory.

Not just as you want it. If our hearts and minds are divided between seeking God or seeking ourselves, we will become double minded and unstable. We will become spiritually and emotionally unstable and thus sink in the waves of stress and life! We will literally be torn apart spiritually and physically by our stress and worry, because we have not yielded to Him.

Let go and let God; allow your wholehearted devotion to be on Christ and not on yourself.

God will not make your decisions for you; you need to seek His precepts and distill what is best for value’s and character’s sake; then, He will enable us to form it and grow (Isa. 26:3; Matt. 6:33)

Allow me to give you a couple of take home ponders,

What happens when Doubt comes into your life? What will you do about it next time it happens?

What gets in your way of making time with God? What are you going to do about it?

Remember, you are not in this alone, you have Christ the Lord, the church and thus you can get over disappointments and seize the initiative to go forth in life and your spiritual formation and precious relationships!

Let us pray….



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