“Whenever there’s an opportunity for destructive disappointment, there’s also an opportunity for divine appointments.”- Susie Larson
Susie Larson concludes Chapter 2 of Your Powerful Prayers as she discusses destructive disappointment. Ms. Larson defines destructive disappointment as ruminating on your losses/unfulfilled expectations in a way that:
- damages you
- causes you harm
- negatively impacts your relationships
Most importantly, the author cautions, when we unexpectedly lose what we love, we run the risk of also losing sight of the God who loves us.” As a result, Dr. Warren Wiersbe (Moody Bible Institute) describes three potential responses to adversity:
- Endure our trials. If we only endure our trials, those trials master us. Then, we develop a tendency to become hard and bitter.
- Escape our trials. Trying to escape out trials means we’ll probably miss the purposes God desires to achieve in our lives.
- Enlist our trials. Learning to enlist our trials transforms them into servants rather than masters. Thus, our trials now work for us.
In conclusion, Ms. Larson notes that when we speak out of our pain, the enemy, Satan, smuggles in a lie. Hence, we say things about ourselves, our life, and our God we don’t necessarily mean. Ms. Larson adds:
” . . . grace for the brokenhearted and hurting . . . doesn’t mean that anything goes when we’re disappointed or hurt. In fact, that mind-set will get us into farm more trouble than we can imagine. When we consider the utter power in our words, we’re wise not to give our minds or mouths free rein when our hearts are broken in two.”
Destructive disappointment causes us to quickly lose our way, perspective, and handle on our relationship with God. Instead, we need to view them as divine appointments.
Today’s question: What Bible verses help you see your opportunities as divine appointments? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “How we steward our perspective”
