Ecclesiastes 7:13-20 Common English Bible
Good times and bad
13 Consider God’s work! Who can straighten what God has made crooked? 14 When times are good, enjoy the good; when times are bad, consider: God has made the former as well as the latter so that people can’t discover anything that will come to be after them.
15 I have seen everything in my pointless lifetime: the righteous person may die in spite of their righteousness; then again, the wicked may live long in spite of their wickedness. 16 Don’t be too righteous or too wise, or you may be dumbfounded.[a] 17 Don’t be too wicked and don’t be a fool, or you may die before your time. 18 It’s good that you take hold of one of these without letting go of the other because the one who fears God will go forth with both.
19 Wisdom makes a wise person stronger than ten rulers who are in a city. 20 Remember: there’s no one on earth so righteous as to do good only and never make a mistake.[b]
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Severe weather events across the USA, unrelenting severe flooding wiping out roads, homes, businesses, severe snow storms, white outs, and ice, blizzards.
Roadways are impassable or completely shut down. Airplanes are grounded.
Commerce is effected, goods are indeterminably delayed getting to the stores.
Suddenly, untold numbers of government workers have been fired and laid off in masse – so as if the weather events have not caused enough grief, the loss of a job, the loss of income, threatening a family’s health, housing, well-being.
All kinds of rapid fire changes are occurring – rules and regulations, routines.
Who can keep up with it all?
Whose praying their prayers with an explicit yearning they stay unaffected?
Disappointment is knocking on too many doors, trying to kick down doors, in the hope it may take up a long term residence or become a parasitic squatter.
Disappointment is a natural part of living-it is not meant, was never meant to become an all encompassing life draining malignancy. However, circumstances can arise where such severe feelings of disappointments become all too real.
Which are the psalms of lament?
Individual psalms of Lament include: 3, 4, 5, 7, 9-10, 13, 14, 17, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 31, 36, 39, 40:12-17, 41, 42-43, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 59, 61, 64, 70, 71, 77, 86, 89, 120, 139, 141, 142. Corporate psalms of Lament include: 12, 44, 58, 60, 74, 79, 80, 83, 85, 89, 90, 94, 123, 126, 129.
There are not too many places in the bible where disappointment is absent.
Ways to Recover After Disappointment
Matthew 11:28-30 New King James Version
28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am [a]gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
There are many things in this world that can cause us to feel disappointed. Maybe you applied for your dream job and didn’t get it. Or maybe your significant other called off your engagement. Things such as these can cause heartache. Not only this, but it can also create depression, hopelessness, and feelings of failure. If you have struggled with disappointment and don’t know how to deal with it, know that you aren’t alone.
While many people want you to normalize feeling disappointment, it is also helpful to know how to recover in the aftermath of it all. Disappointment can cause us to feel bad about ourselves, especially if an employer, our spouse, or a friend rejects us. These things can ignite negative thoughts inside our minds. Rather than allowing these negative feelings and thoughts to drain us, we need to know how to properly recover after something disappointing happens.
Here are five ways to recover after disappointment:
1. Pour Your Feelings Out to God
One way to recover after disappointment is to pour out your feelings to God.
The first person we need to go to when we are feeling disappointed is God. He understands all of our feelings and none of our feelings will ever turn God away from us. The Lord knows what we are feeling and wants to help you process them. Right away, after you have witnessed the disappointment, go to God.
Every time when I face disappointment, I do not face it on my own, and neither should you. We can go to God. Tell Him about how you are disappointed, the pain you are feeling, and how it weighs heavy on your heart and mind.
Recently, I have been badly disappointed by my ability to stay healthy. I had caught Covid for the second time, and it stole my appetite for over a week , I lost 10 plus pounds in less than 10 days, miserable all over, on top of my diabetes and my triple bypass (total weight loss of fifty pounds since July 17, 2023.)
Then my wife caught the Covid and flu viruses and the two of us have been down for almost a month now. We are both excruciatingly tired, worn out.
But, still we prayed with and for each other.
I was proud of my courage to pray despite my fears and doubts; however, after all the time and energy I put into my getting healthy, getting the wife healthy.
We still felt crestfallen, hurt, tired, at the slower that slow recovery process.
We went to God with our feelings. We told Him how disappointed we were and how much grief we were going through. If you are experiencing these feelings too, know you are not alone. We live in a high stress difficult world and will not achieve all the consecutive days of perfect health we try to do. When faced with disappointments, we just need to turn to God and trust Him with our feelings.
2. Get Your Mind Off Things
A second way to recover after disappointment is to get your mind off things.
This can be done by yourself or with others. If you choose the former, go for a walk, listen to an interesting podcast, or curl up with your favorite book.
If you choose the latter, spend some time with a loved one who will be there for you and knows how to get your mind off things.
This could be a sibling, your spouse, or a friend. These people know you well and understand what will help best to get your mind off the disappointment.
By getting your mind off things, you will stop dwelling on the disappointing situation. As mentioned earlier, if we dwell on disappointment, it will only make us feel worse about ourselves and fill our minds with many bad thoughts.
Even though this disappointment was difficult, that does not mean everything you put your hand to will end in disappointment.
Trust God with the process of healing and restoration and use the present time to distract yourself from the issue. There is nothing wrong with taking some good time for self-care, recharging, relaxation—away from your problems.
3. Remember Your Worth in Christ
Third way to recover after disappointment is to remember your worth in Christ.
The world will try to teach us our worth is found in other things, this is not true.
Our worth is not tied to our appearance, our paycheck, or the car we drive.
Rather, our worth is in Christ alone.
Remind yourself of this truth when you are recovering after a disappointing situation. Even if you didn’t land the job you wanted or get accepted into your dream college or job or home, know that you are still worthy just as you are.
Your worth does not change based on your financial status, where you live, or your appearance. Your worth stays the same because it is found only in Christ.
In Christ, you are 100% worthy, loved, valuable, and cherished. None of these qualities will ever be taken from you because you are a redeemed child of God.
When disappointments are ever-abounding, remind yourself of your worth in Christ. No matter what else does happen, you are still more than enough.
4. Talk It Out with a Loved One
A fourth way to recover after disappointment is to talk it out with a loved one.
This is something that can be beneficial in affirming your feelings as well as getting things off your chest.
Talk with your spouse, your sibling, or a parent about these feelings.
Don’t bottle these feelings up or try to push them down into your heart.
You need to allow these feelings to be expressed, your thoughts to be heard, and your pain to be validated.
Your loved one will be able to do all these things for you as they will be a source of encouragement.
Loved ones have a way of bringing us back to reality and reminding us of all the positive qualities we have.
Disappointment can make us feel as though we are failures, hopeless, and lost causes. Our loved ones will be able to help us change the narrative and get our minds focused on the truth that we are beloved by God, we are still more than enough, and we are great at many things.
When your loved ones tell you these things, don’t shrug them off. Accept them and allow them to comfort your heart.
5. Allow Yourself to Grieve
A fifth way to recover after disappointment is to allow yourself to grieve.
As mentioned earlier, I was trying to get healthy for a long time. I had to take time to grieve after this instance because it was a very hart time for me.
I felt as though my health was taking too long to achieve health and wellness.
In other words, I had to have time to mourn the loss of what good health I had hoped for. This is true for you also—you have to give yourself time to grieve.
You cannot reasonably expect yourself to instantly bounce back after a hard disappointing situation. Instead, you need to give yourself permission, extend extravagant grace to yourself and not push yourself beyond your boundaries.
Try to allow yourself to grieve and don’t pass judgment on yourself as it seems to drag on. We often think grieving is okay only after the death of a loved one, but you can grieve for any reason that has brought pain, heartache, and tears.
Dealing with disappointment is difficult, but it is possible. Do your best to recover from the disappointment rather than letting it eat away at your heart.
Pour your feelings out to God, get your mind off things, remember your worth in Christ, talk it out with a loved one, and allow yourself to grieve. It’s more than okay to take all the time you need to recover after a disappointment.
Be ever so extra gentle with yourself and treat yourself as you would a friend.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 80 Complete Jewish Bible
80 (0) For the leader. Set to “Lilies.” A testimony. A psalm of Asaf:
2 (1) Shepherd of Isra’el, listen!
You who lead Yosef like a flock,
you whose throne is on the k’ruvim,
shine out!
3 (2) Before Efrayim, Binyamin and M’nasheh,
rouse your power; and come to save us.
4 (3) God, restore us!
Make your face shine, and we will be saved.
5 (4) Adonai, God of armies, how long
will you be angry with your people’s prayers?
6 (5) You have fed them tears as their bread
and made them drink tears in abundance.
7 (6) You make our neighbors fight over us,
and our enemies mock us.
8 (7) God of armies, restore us!
Make your face shine, and we will be saved.
9 (8) You brought a vine out of Egypt,
you expelled the nations and planted it,
10 (9) you cleared a space for it;
then it took root firmly and filled the land.
11 (10) The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches;
12 (11) It put out branches as far as the sea
and shoots to the [Euphrates] River.
13 (12) Why did you break down [the vineyard’s] wall,
so that all passing by can pluck [its fruit]?
14 (13) The boar from the forest tears it apart;
wild creatures from the fields feed on it.
15 (14) God of armies, please come back!
Look from heaven, see, and tend this vine!
16 (15) Protect what your right hand planted,
the son you made strong for yourself.
17 (16) It is burned by fire, it is cut down;
they perish at your frown of rebuke.
18 (17) Help the man at your right hand,
the son of man you made strong for yourself.
19 (18) Then we won’t turn away from you —
if you revive us, we will call on your name.
20 (19) Adonai, God of armies, restore us!
Make your face shine, and we will be saved.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 