Disappointment

Written by stacy

“You pour oil on my head???
(Psalm 23:5)

How Can I Cope With Disappointment?

A disappointment reminds us that we don’t control the future.? A disappointment is a missed appointment.? What we hoped would happen, didn’t.? We wanted health; we got disease.? We wanted retirement; we got reassignment.? Divorce instead of family.? Dismissal instead of promotion. Now what?? What do we do with our disappointments? Better asked, how are you handling it?? Could you use some help?? I’ve got just what you need.? Six works in the fifth verse in the twenty-third Psalm:? “You pour oil on my head.???

In ancient Israel shepherds used oil to repel insects, to prevent conflicts and to heal wounds.? The shepherd anoints the sheep with an oil-like repellent.? To prevent injury, the shepherd anoints the rams with a slippery, greasy lubricant that causes them to glance off rather than crash into each other.? They still get hurt, which another reason the shepherd anoints the sheep.? Thorns prick or rocks cut or a sheep rubs its head hard against a tree and gets hurt.? As a result, the shepherd regularly, often daily, inspects the sheep, searching for cuts and abrasions.? He doesn’t want the cut to worsen.? He doesn’t want today’s wound to become tomorrow’s infection.

Neither does God.? Just like sheep, we have wounds, but ours are wounds of the heart that come from disappointment after disappointment.? We have to face aging, lost, and illness.? Some of us face betrayal and injustice. Live long enough in this world and most of us will face deep, deep hurts of some kind or another.? If we’re not careful, these wounds lead to bitterness.? And so just like sheep, we need to be treated.

“He made us, and we belong to him; we are his people, the sheep he tends??? (Psalm 100:3).

You’ve shared your disappointments with your neighbor, your relatives, your friends.? But have you taken them to God?? James says,

“Anyone who is having troubles should pray??? (James 5:13).

Before you go anywhere else with you disappointments, go to God. When we come to God, we make requests; we don’t make demands.? We come with high hopes and a humble heart (1 Peter 5:6).? We state what we want, but we pray for what is right.? We go to Him.? We bow before Him, and we trust in Him.

Worth a try, don’t you think?

- Taken from Travelling Light by Max Lucado

Related Links:

Lost and Wandering – No More:

http://www.retirementwithapurpose.com/lornevogt.html

About the Author
This article was written by Katherine Kehler. You can read more about this author by clicking this link:
http://www.talk.thelife.com/katherine-kehler/

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