How to Breakthrough Disappointments

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

This year, we watched the snow forecasts with great anticipation. My daughter and I love snow in the South which comes as often as a blue moon.

“I know we will be out of school tomorrow,” my daughter chimed with excitement.

She loved snow days when younger.

“Well, you know it might not snow. Sometimes they get their forecasts wrong,” I cautioned.

The next morning we awoke to a wet, muddy ground. No snow fell through the night, just cold, freezing rain.

My daughter’s disappointment marked her face, but she prepared for school.

Now in high school, she learned to breakthrough the disappointment of dreaming of snowfalls and winter magic. We live in the South and these events are rare; so, disappointment occurs often, but I am grateful that this disappointment when compared to others we can face is so minor.

Disappointment regularly visits my life; so, I set my  daughter up for failure if I dare wish her no disappointments. I can’t spare her disappointments. I can’t protect her from them. Disappointments are what will make or break her. They may be unwanted visitors, but they are also teachers.

How can you overcome disappointment and breakthrough in your life? Here are some steps to dealing with disappointment.

• Remember Romans 8:28:

   And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.  Our disappointments serve God’s ultimate plan for our lives.

• Adjust your expectations. You set great goals, dream big, but take things slowly. Don’t expect to fulfill them overnight. Expect challenges that may even force you to rethink those goals and dreams.
• Take shelter in God and find joy in Him in the midst of disappointment.

Psalms 91:1-3  He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.

• Don’t feel guilty if you let your disappointment out and pout. We all fall short and as humans we react in ways that we may regret later, but forgive yourself and move forward.

 Psalm 30:5 Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.

• Pray about your disappointments. The Holy Spirit awaits to give you comfort.

Psalm 55:22 Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.

• Look for the lesson and good in your disappointment. Flip it around. Find the proverbial silver lining.

“It didn’t snow today; so, I will get an extra day for Spring Break and be able to enjoy it because the weather may be nicer.”

“I didn’t get the loan for the car, but the loan may have been a financial burden in the long run. Riding the bus will mean more reading time.”

• Flipping or finding the good seems impossible when you face even tougher and more life changing disappointments. In these situations, remember we may never understand how or why these disappointments happen. Just have faith that our disappointments could have heavenly implications.

I miscarried in 2004. I struggled. How can losing a baby be for my good? How can this be God’s plan? Then an image blazed in my mind. My sister lost her baby the same year. Our father died in 1999. I saw our children, laughing in heaven with my dad.

• This may sound redundant, but remember sometimes God doesn’t answer yes right away. He delays His blessings for reasons we don’t understand. Focus on the truth found in this scripture:

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

I love this song we sing in church : A Greater Yes.