Roads of Disappointment...

"He lets me walk down roads of disappointment,
He watches, and He knows what's best for me...
My greatest strength comes through my darkest trial,
And my greatest joy is knowing that He can trust in me...

That's just His way of telling me He loves me,
Love-beyond all human understanding...
I don't question trials that bring me to my knees,
That's just His way of telling me He loves me.

If I'm successful walking through the valley,
He'll give me strength to climb the highest hill,
The more I die the better He can mold me,
Change my life completely to fit His perfect will.

That's just His way of telling me He loves me,
Love-beyond all human understanding...
I don't question trials that bring me to my knees,
That's just His way of telling me He loves me."
Buck Rambo

This song has been running thru my heart the past few days and I pause to ponder the years that I have walked with God. The words of that song are truly the song in my own heart.

When disappointments come your way, my friend, may I suggest something for you? Surrender your heart and don't insist that life happens the way you wanted it to. Simply find God in it and let Him do what He does best: create beauty from ashes.

You may walk thru the valley of parents rejecting you over 'differences of administration' (as Paul talks about in one of his epistles)

You may be deeply disappointed that your husband has been unfaithful at his post in some way that is not God's heart at all

You may be heart broken at loss in some way (many of us are...grief is not a stranger to mankind!)

You may be facing the goodbye's that are hard to say and even harder to comprehend why God would even ordain such a goodbye when the alternative seems to be a better plan in your frail humanity

You may be deeply disappointed in the church you have known all your life...for any number of reasons that are godly

You may be dealing with health issues or watching a family member struggle with a health problem that crushes your heart to walk with them in the struggle

You may be disappointed in friendships that once were happy but turned sour as the two of you walked in opposite directions and harmony was disrupted

The list could go on an on and on. Disappointment is the middle name of mankind. The question is: will we become bitter, or will we let the crushing of disappointment cause the sweet fragrance of surrender and trust to come forth from our lives?

I remember going to Landis Valley Farm Museum on a field trip when I was in third grade. The tour guide stepped on some mint that was growing outside the door  of a house on the tour and I recall the wonderful scent that it left. He made a comment about how that is in our lives when something crushes us. If we see the hand of God in events in our lives and truly believe that nothing escapes His eye, then the sweet smell of gratitude and surrender can eminate beautifully from our lives.

He loves us. That is beyond comprehension and without a doubt, the underlying belief that can keep a person rock solid in their walk even thru disappointment. I've lived my life with that belief for a few years now, and I can tell you that it is very true...it works! It doesn't erase disappointments but it sure does change my perspective on life.

Life isn't mine to order the details around like I own it. I am not my own. I am bought with a price. God knows how He can be most glorified from my life. It is up to me to choose how I relate to the disappointments and changes that come beyond my control. For His glory. ALWAYS.