” . . . in your most private moments you want to scream words you don’t use around your Bible friends at the unfairness of it all. You, too, have memories that still hurt. Realities that make you swallow back tears. . . . And you’re disappointed that today you aren’t living the promises of God you’ve begged to come to pass. You’re tired of this disappointment lingering a little too long and being a bit too hard.”- Lysa TerKeurst
In Chapter 6 (“A Little Too Long and a Lot Too Hard”) of It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way, Lysa TerKeurst understands how hard we find it to go on when disappointments linger. The frustration drains you. And when things stay hard too long, every day feels like you’re walking on a tightrope. Not a solid, secure road into the future.
Also, it’s perhaps most scary to balance in the middle of that tightrope. You’re not at the beginning where the ground fell out from beneath you. But you still need to reach solid ground. Furthermore, Ms. TerKeurst observes, it’s equally terrifying to move ahead or turn back. The author adds: “The tightrope is swaying, hope is fading, and gravity is screaming that I’ll fall . . . or fall apart. Either way, it all make me afraid to exhale.”
In addition, Lysa stresses, the most realistic expectations birth the most disappointing realities. These unmet longings create a searing pain within the human heart. Thus, it often produces the rallying cry of the pity party – why me?
One minute you want to stomp and slam your fist down, isolating yourself from everyone. Yet, the next minute you want to crank up the praise music. This, Ms. TerKeurst notes, is what it’s like to be so very human. You hurt, yet you still hope. As the author concludes, “hoping means I acknowledge reality in the very same breath that I acknowledge God’s sovereignty.”
Today’s question: What Bible verses sustain you when disappointment lingers a little too long? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “The crucible of longsuffering”
