Dealing with Disappointment

I sat with my heart pounding in my chest, just waiting to hear my name called.  This was it.  It was the moment my future would be decided.  Any moment they would take me in another room and let me know my fate.  When they finally called my name, I began to doubt if I had done enough to make it.  What if I wasn’t good enough?  What if my voice was pitchy?  What if I had missed a note?  Did they know I couldn’t read music that well?

“Well Amanda, you didn’t make it.  We just didn’t feel like you were as strong today as you needed to be.  The competition among the other students was so tough and unfortunately we cannot offer you acceptance into this university’s School of Music.”

My entire future had been riding on that one audition and I had failed.  What would I do now?  Music was my life, how was I supposed to move on?  I was so disappointed and felt like I had let everyone down.

Dealing with disappointment is never easy.  No one likes to feel like they’ve failed at something.  We tend to blame ourselves and wonder what we could have done differently.

If there’s one thing God has shown me over and over again it is that He is in control of my life, not me. 

As I walked to the car that day feeling unworthy and unsure of my future, I could feel God saying “Just be patient my child.  I’ve got something better planned.  You may be disappointed right now, but just trust me.  I know what’s best for you.”

Have you ever felt God saying this to you?  In the midst of something not working out like you had planned, have you felt His presence and control?

I don’t know why it’s so hard for us to trust in God and His plan for our lives.  Do you?  I mean, He made us in His image, created the mountains and the oceans, and most of all sent His only son to die for us, yet we {myself included} still have trouble trusting that He knows what’s best for us!

Getting into the School of Music that day would have matched the plan I had for myself, not God’s plan for me.  I hadn’t asked Him about the future He wanted me to have, I was only thinking of what I wanted for myself because I thought I knew best.

Have you ever found yourself feeling this way? 

See God knew that I would never be accepted into the School of Music.  He knew that I would feel disappointed in myself and question my future.  But He never ceases to amaze me with His love for us, because wouldn’t you know it, He had something so much better planned for me!

He has something much better planned for you, too. 

Right now if you find yourself in the midst of an unclear future or you’re dealing with being disappointed over something, find comfort in His plan for you.

We are not ever promised that we won’t feel disappointment or uncertainty, but we are promised that God’s plan for our lives will emerge victorious.  We are promised prosperity and a future full of hope.

I’m sure many of us have heard this verse from Jeremiah before, but have we really listened to it? Is there an area of your life you feel God working with you on?  Maybe it’s control.  Perhaps it’s trusting Him.  Maybe you feel Him directing you down a different path than you ever saw yourself going down.  Trust in Him and His plan.  After all, it’s hard to get disappointed when God’s ultimately directing our path, right?!

By the way, I totally still rock out my voice on Sunday mornings during worship time.

How have you dealt with disappointments in the past?  Did you start down one path only to find God directing you down another path?  Please share your thoughts with us in a comment below. We’d love to hear from you.

Thanks for joining us a More to Be today. Come back next week for a great one year celebration!