I believe with every fiber of my being that our true worth that is found in God alone. After all, we are the only portion of His creation that was created with substance (Genesis 2:7, 22) and we are the only portion of God's creation that bears His very image (Genesis 1:27). This is not to say that we should consider ourselves more important than we truly are, but we must acknowledge the fact that since we were created with the purpose of knowing God fully, we must pursue this endeavor with all the strength that we can muster.
If God created us with the express purpose of knowing and glorifying Him, then we should reckon that He truly wants what is best for us. So why, then, do things not always turn out as we desire? Is there something wrong with us or is God not following through as we think He should? There simply isn't enough room here to discuss the reasons that we experience the negative things that come our way, and acknowledging the holiness and majesty of God will certainly cure us of thinking that He is in any way capricious toward us. My concern, rather, is to examine how it is we respond to our Lord when we feel as if we have lost an opportunity that we believed should have truly been ours.
How, then, do we move beyond life's disappointments? While there is not a firm sequence I can suggest that we follow, there are several truths that should guide us when we believe we have not gotten a fair shake in this life:
- Get over yourself - Without intending to sound too harsh, I believe that we often spend too much time having a pity party over our disappointments. There is often nothing that we can do to immediately change our circumstances and wallowing in them isn't going to make things better.
- Seek God with fervor - This isn't to say that we shouldn't always be seeking after God in good times and bad - we should - yet we can often turn to self or others initially instead of to God. The first active thing that we do is to seek Him with all that we have - get on our faces in prayer, cry out to Him, rejoice in Him and His love and grace, savor Him.
- Marinate in His word - I recently was disappointed with a circumstance in my life and I immediately remembered the Scripture I had read just that morning. I opened my Bible and begin to meditate on those words again, soaking in their truth and rejoicing in their promises.
- Share your hurt with others - Notice where this falls in the progression. We need each other and no one needs to walk through any of life's battles alone. So once you have ensured that God is your core focus, allow others to walk alongside of you so that they can be purveyors of God's grace and healing.
- Be on guard for what comes next - The enemy would like nothing more than to cause your disappointment to progress into discouragement that would compel you to deliver self-inflicted wounds - that little voice that tells you that God can't use you and maybe you should stop trying to be somebody you're not. Maybe you have been trying to operate in your own power or in an area where you aren't gifted, but that does not mean that you don't serve a purpose for God. Be prepared for whatever lies the enemy will try to whisper into your ear.
- Move on - Don't dwell on what you've lost. Instead, press on with a full pursuit of Christ and His kingdom in mind. Stay in the word, be a man or woman of prayer, keep serving in ministry.
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