Bouncing Back From Disappointment

Scriptures: Psalms 42:5, Psalms 13:1-6, Psalms 42:11, 1 Thessalonians 5:18

We live in a world that is not the way God intended it to be when He created it. When sin entered His perfect creation, all of it was subject to its fruit. Let’s face it, discouragement is not from God, but is one of Satan’s tools that gives us a feeling of hopelessness.

The Psalmist David experienced discouragement during his life and openly wrote about it to encourage us. Consider the beginning of Psalm 13, where David cries,

How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart all the day (v.1-2)?

Certainly, we have all felt like this from time to time. When the pressures of daily life mount up and we see no way to relieve that pressure, we might think that the Lord, as the song goes, “caught the last train for the coast.”

But, David has a lot more to offer than heartfelt lament. His writings always conclude with a confession that God is the One who supplies all of his needs— even when disappointed. 

But I have trusted in Your loving kindness;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
I will sing to the LORD,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me (v.5-6).

The God who is sovereign over all of creation and loves us can provide hope to our hearts when we ask for help. If you are feeling discouraged, pray for God in confidence to remove those feelings and begin to praise Him for His love and care. Jesus has broken the chains of disappointment and freed us from the grips of Satan. 

Scriptures: Luke 24:17, Psalms 73:23-26, Habakkuk 3:17-18, Psalms 34:18

Ever have an idea about something that ultimately goes almost opposite of what you expected? A man applies to go to Harvard, but ends up selling insurance instead. A tired young mother stares at her unfinished novel on the desk collecting dust, wondering about the road she never took. When life refuses to deliver on our expectations, the effect on us can be devastating.
 
However, discouragement is nothing new. In Luke 24, two disciples walk on the Emmaus Road. After the crucifixion they embark on a seven-mile walk back home to Emmaus. They discuss what has just taken place, trying to make sense of it all. Jesus was supposed to deliver them from oppression and usher in a new, glorious kingdom. In short, disappointment takes hold of them. 

Enter Jesus, who appears as a stranger to these discouraged disciples and asks them what they’re talking about. Put another way, He wants to know how they feel, and they give Him the unvarnished truth of their sadness. We know their pain; when the bills pile up and the bank account shrinks, maybe you’ve wondered where God is in it all. As the marriage becomes stale and the job leaves a sour taste in your mouth, you may have found yourself thinking like the God of the universe has abandoned ship. In those moments, we might do well to remember that our friend Jesus sticks closer than a brother.

Don’t lose heart. God has never left your side and He has a plan to see you through even the most discouraging circumstances. While we may not always understand why we go through such seasons, we can take comfort in knowing that the Lord causes all things to work together for good for those who are called according to His purpose.

Scriptures: Luke 22:41-42, Psalms 30:5, Deuteronomy 31:6, Matthew 28:20

If you think about it, the Lone Ranger is a misnamed hero. He’s brave, morally pure, and strong, but he never fights his battles alone. Tonto is always there as a loyal partner and companion. Take it a step further; how sad it would be if the Lone Ranger really was a one-man operation. The world’s most famous cowboy might never have made it through the first movie! In fact, every great movie hero has a sidekick or partner; Batman has Robin, Sherlock Holmes has Watson, and whoever heard of Kirk without Spock?

The Bible also has some famous duos. Moses relied on Aaron, David’s best friend was Jonathan, and Ruth was the best daughter-in-law Naomi could have ever hoped to have.

However, things get a little tricky when we get to Jesus.

Jesus never had a sidekick. He did have twelve disciples, three of whom he favored, but none of them quite fit as a companion in the same sense as the others named above. He was their leader—they called him rabbi and Lord, but never brother.

So, does that make Jesus a lone ranger? Not at all.

He stayed closely connected to and talked regularly with the Father, who saw Him through the agony of Gethsemane and the passion of the cross. He relied on the Holy Spirit to see Him through Satan’s temptations in the wilderness. 

So, what can we learn from all this?

Don’t be a lone ranger. Let the eternal companionship of the Father, Son, and Spirit give you the encouragement and the strength to triumph over your greatest fears. When discouragement comes your way, cast your cares on the One who saw Jesus through His darkest times.

Scriptures: James 4:7-8, Mark 9:24, Psalms 55:22, Matthew 14:31

We have an adversary and his name is Satan. He is in the discouragement business and every opportunity to bring us emotionally or psychologically to our knees serves his ultimate purpose: separating us from God. 

Matthew’s gospel records the story of Peter walking on water, brimming with faith that Jesus would keep him from sinking, even in the middle of an awful storm. Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water,” to which Jesus said, “Come.” Yet, even in the middle of a bona-fide miracle, Peter could not help but be frightened by a ferocious wind and in that moment, Satan delivered discouragement to the fisherman, who began to sink. 

Think about all of the sinking moments in your life. Lost jobs, quarrels with family, bad grades in school…each of us have tasted that despair and if we’re honest, it is in those moments that we feel as though God is far away. But the Bible commands us to draw near to Him and to resist the devil, who will flee from us. As believers, we easily forget that we have been empowered to do that which God has commanded, just like Peter, who was first commanded to walk out on the water.

Unbelief comes as quickly as it goes and when the winds of life blow hard against our bow, it has a way of disappointing even the most faithful among us. But, if we keep our eyes on Christ — follow His teachings and pray as He taught us — we will be able to weather the fiercest of storms.

Scriptures: Hebrews 7:23-25, Romans 8:34, 1 John 2:1, Isaiah 40:31

There is an old proverb of unknown origin that speaks of a man who has fallen in a hole and sees no way out. He hollers for help, and eventually a rugged man walks by and, upon hearing the man’s plea and seeing his predicament, tells the man that he needs to pick himself up by the bootstraps and find a way out on his own, before going on his way. 

A holy man walks by and hears the man’s desperate cry. He tells him that he will say a prayer for him that he will find his way out and then scurries off. Finally, an ordinary man walks by the hole and sees the first man and his situation. He listens to the man’s plea for help. Then, without warning, the ordinary man jumps down into the hole with the first man. “Why did you do that?” the first man asks. The ordinary man replies, “Because I have been in this hole before, and I know the way out.”

Jesus Christ is such a man. According to the Bible, Jesus is the Son of the living God, but He is also God Himself. Yet, in John 1:14, we find out that this Son of God came down to Earth and became a man and lived among the human race. He “emptied Himself” of the divine and assumed the mortality of humans, to include the frustration of temptation and the anguish of death itself.

Why?

So we would have a true Advocate interceding for us forever, One who fully understands what we go through and One who knows the way out.

So, if you feel as though you have fallen in a hole, suffering through some trial to which you see no way out, take heart that there is an Advocate interceding on your behalf who knows exactly what you’re going through, committed to seeing you climb out of that hole.

Scriptures: Luke 24:30-34, Luke 22:14-20, 1 John 5:3, Psalms 9:10

For most of us, the people we know more than any other on Earth are our family. We share heartache and pleasures with them, spend the abundance of our time with them, and commit ourselves to their well-being above all others. As such, these loved ones frequently are the ones who lift us up when we are down and we love them for it.

During his time on Earth, Jesus spent more time with his disciples than anyone else. They got to know his voice, thoughts, mannerisms, pet peeves, and even his unique facial gestures. When He was crucified, they were devastated in ways to which few of us can relate. So, when He appeared to the two on the road to Emmaus (see Bouncing Back from Disappointment – Day 2), he prevented them from recognizing Him at first, so He could hear the true nature of their heart. But, as the verses above point out, their eyes were opened to everything, including who He really was when He broke the bread and gave it to them. 

This action closely resembles His actions in the Lord’s Supper, where He taught them and forewarned them of what was to come. In the intimate act of the breaking of the bread, these disciples knew who He was and they were immediately encouraged.

When life drags us down and struggle becomes unbearable, our ability to rise above it all hinges on our intimate communion with Christ. Do we spend time with Him, praying and reading His words? Just like we spend time with our family, sharing the joys and sorrows together, do we give all our burdens to and share all our victories with Him? In short, do we live as people who are in Him? Take the time every day to get to know the One to whom you’ve devoted your life, and let Him reveal His true self to you. Regular communion with Christ gives us the means by which we rise above the disappointments of our lives.

Scriptures: Ephesians 6:13-17, Exodus 15:1-2, Psalms 28:7, Philippians 4:13

I read a book by a former US soldier, now a Bible teacher, who provided some powerful advice on bouncing back from the most discouraging moments of our lives. In one chapter, he describes a time in his career when he was in a room, looking eye to eye with a man he knew to be his enemy, and the only weapon on hand was his bayonet. In this terrifying moment, he explains how he lived to tell that tale by violently taking the other man’s life. He also goes on to describe the years of torment that followed that moment, full of regret, guilt, and bitterness.

So, how did he bounce back, well enough to be able to write a book encouraging so many others who struggle with deep-seeded discouragement? By learning how to fill his tanks in peacetime so that he might have provision in war. Let’s be honest; when we’re in the middle of great struggle, it’s like war! The enemy finds a way to pile all sorts of unpleasant people, responsibilities, events, and thoughts upon us when we’re at our lowest. We lose battle after battle, crying out to God, “Why?” His answer is plain: because we let our reservoir run dry during peacetime and now we’re paying for it in the middle of the battle!

That is why it is vital to be on our knees and in the Word daily, especially when things are going smoothly. We’re all Praying Professionals and Reading Rangers when things are rough, but we have a way of forgetting that diligence when life is good. Let me encourage you today; when you are going through a season of reward, victory, and peace, THAT is the time to be on your knees and in your Bible, filling your heart and mind with the promises of God that will see you through the next battle.