UnexpectedSample

We can often miss the adventure that God has before us, because we get stuck in the disappointment behind us—when people or life have failed us. We move on in years, but our life often stops at the point of our greatest disappointments if we don’t go through them. We either go through what happens and manage the disappointments well, or they manage us. 

But despite how we feel, all the disappointment in the world will never change the promises of God, the reality of Jesus, or his destiny for our lives. None of our broken dreams, personal heartaches, or shattered plans will stop his desire for us to fulfill our purpose. Yes, the disappointment is real. The consequences can be devastating. But to keep moving forward, we have to learn to be resilient. We have to learn to trust, like a little child. We have to learn to manage our disappointments well, so we can try again full of renewed hope. 

Has it ever occurred to you that, if you’ll revisit your disappointment, God can give you a new perspective of it and that it can become a tool to help others? That you can take what he gives to you and pass it on? “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

Has it ever occurred to you that God has a new trajectory for you getting to your destiny? Disappointment is a place we pass through, not a place where we stay. God wants us emotionally engaged in His purposes. Living in the moment. Fully alive. Hopeful. He wants us to let him restore our hearts, so we can keep moving forward and fulfill his good purpose for our lives. Even when people—and life—fail us. 

Adapted from Unexpected: Leave Fear Behind, Move Forward in Faith, Embrace the Adventure by Christine Caine. Copyright © 2018 by Christine Caine. Reprinted with permission of Zondervan Publishing. All rights reserved.