Disappointment, Sorrow...and Something Greater

All of us would rather not experience disappointment and sorrow.  However, these emotions are a part of life.  Someone may say something or do something that is the opposite of what we thought they would say or do and that disappoints us.  A broken relationship or the sickness or loss of a loved one may cause sorrow.  Amid disappointment, sorrow and grief there can be a ray of hope.

In the New Testament, when writing to the people who lived at Corinth, the Apostle Paul said, “I have great confidence in you; I take great pride in you. I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds” (II Corinthians 7:4).  Notice that Paul was facing many difficulties ("troubles"), and yet, he could experience joy.  In his difficult situations he took the opportunity to do two things:

1. Encourage the people to whom he was writing (“great confidence in” and “take pride in”) and
2. Find abundant joy (“in all our troubles…joy knows no bounds”).  

How could he find great joy through his difficulties?  From the Old Testament, Nehemiah helps answer this question when he said,“Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).  Joy comes from the Lord and it does not depend on being in a good situation.  While you are going through a time of disappointment, sorrow or grief you can have great joy—if you let the Lord provide it for you.  What difficulty is discouraging you today?  Turn to the Lord.  He is ready to help you have abundant joy in spite of your situation.

Handling Difficulties

A short time ago I was driving on the freeway in the darkness of the early morning when I heard a loud noise that made me blink and jump.  I thought something hit my windshield.  After slowing down, looking quickly across the entire windshield, I could see nothing and assumed something must have hit a different part of the car.  After arriving at my destination I examined the entire body of the vehicle, but found nothing unusual.  It wasn’t until later that day, while driving in bright light, that I discovered a small crack in the very lowest part of the windshield that begun to spider out.  For the sake of safety, the windshield had to be replaced.  I hadn’t planned for that difficulty.  It wasn’t something that was on my schedule.  But it happened.

The same can be said of life.  All of us begin the day assuming that everything will be just fine.  And then a difficulty occurs, be it large or small.  It may be sickness, the loss of a friend, an accident, a disappointment, the death of a loved one, the decline or loss of an investment, a cloudy day, a word of discouragement, a project that failed, an increase in the cost of goods or services, or a cracked windshield.  We don’t plan for difficulties or insert them into our schedule, but they will come.

When difficulties come, how do you handle them, especially if they are major?  One Biblical example comes from the life of Paul and Silas.  They were headed to a prayer meeting but ended up beaten and placed in jail by the city magistrates.  They didn’t sit and mope, lash out against those who mistreated them, or sit and worry about what had happened.  Instead, the Scripture tells us, “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them” (Acts 16:25).  The end result was that the men were released and able to minister to the jailor and his family.  Concerning difficulties:  (1) Realize that difficulties will come for everyone; (2) Understand that Satan will try to use the difficulty to get you to turn from God; (3) Recognize that difficulties will last for varying lengths of time; and (4) Know that God will sustain you through the difficulty.  It might be helpful to remember that God says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (II Corinthians 12:9).  To that the Apostle Paul said, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong” (II Corinthians 12:9-10).

What difficult situation are you facing today?  Is it small?  Is it big?  Whatever the size, turn it over to God.  Strength and hope for navigating your difficulty of life will come to you from God, if you turn to Him for help.