5 Helpful Truths for When Life Disappoints and Lets You Down

1. Remember who God is and what He’s done.
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” 1 John 3:1a

Remember who God is. Search intensively on finding attributes of His character. Many of us can simply Google “who is God,” and view verse after verse reminding us of who He is.

Remember what God has done. Prayer is paramount when frustrated with a pause in progress. Seek to remember answered prayers. Not just the direct answers we were hoping and looking for, but His answers. Search for wisdom in His word and pray for revelation and understanding. We never outgrow the discipline to meet with Him each day. There is no shortcut to wisdom and progress but through God’s word.

Also, remember who God says you are because only your creator God defines you. He says you are:

– Always forgiven (1 John 1:9).

– Never loved less (Psalm 136).

– So loved that He gave His only Son to die for us (John 3:16).

Jesus faced an unfair death with tears of blood and a mission to defeat death for us, whom He took to the cross by name. God knows who we are and what we’re worth. But do we?
2. Keep moving forward with what God has given you to do.
“In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:6)

Disappointment can cause confusion. When things don’t go our way, we are tempted to close ourselves off and focus on fear and anxiety. When we do, the enemy has successfully confused and isolated us so that he can influence us. Break out of the pit of despair forming overhead and swap it for daylight. Seek someone’s help or help someone else with the gifts God gave you.

The purpose of our gifts and talents is to honor God. He places people in our lives purposefully. Some of these people need help, and we need some of them to help us. Take a simple inventory of talents, and the people that surround you. Do the next thing God asks or the last one we can recall. Live this day, and like Jesus said, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34).
3. Depend on God’s power, not yours.
“He will be a spirit of justice to those who sit in judgement and a source of strength to those who battle at the gate.” (Isaiah 28:6, VOICE paraphrase)

In ancient times, the gate of the city was the most vulnerable and important area to protect. In our moments of letdown, when things are not going the way we want them to, fortify the gate and rely on the power of God to meet our work with Holy Spirit power. He is our protector and defender, but many times we put up our dukes to fight, anyway. Let. It. Go.

Submission means to let go of our agenda in exchange for His. Our power, knowledge, and strength without God falter and fade when things start to fall and fail. But the strength that comes from God is unmovable, and the resulting joy is sustainable even through ups and downs. We can fortify the gate of our hearts and minds by praying the power of God’s Word over our lives.
4. Rely on Jesus’ powerful name when you recognize an attack.
“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” (John 10:10 NLT)

Disappointment can expose weaknesses in our faith and leaves us wide open for a spiritual attack.

Satan is devastatingly deceptive and is actively seeking cracks to worm into. He will pounce on any opportunity to destroy our trust in the truth God has already spoken over our lives, confuse us enough to forget who we are, and disrupt the peace Christ won on our behalf.

But Jesus defeated Satan on the cross. There’s no turning back. It’s done. Learn to speak the name of Jesus over every situation in life, both in frustration and triumph. There is incredible power in His name, because of what He has done and who He is. When we feel picked and prodded at, speaking Jesus’ name causes all harassment to flee.
5. Stop comparing your life to others’ lives.
“Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4)

Comparison kills progress. Instead of comparing our lives with those who seem to have everything we desire without working nearly as hard, remember that everyone is harboring some amount of suffering behind their smiles. No one’s life is perfect.

Measure success by God’s standards. Loft His voice above all others. A life walked in the pursuit of Christ trumps our want for anything less than God’s will for our lives. He knows our hearts, and His mercy prevents Him from answering our prayers contrary to what He knows is eternally in our best interest.

In Steve Fuller’s article, he rights our view of what good is: “If God is our greatest treasure, then what makes something good is whether it brings us more of God.” Let’s not miss wanting more of God.