Tag: Christianity

Overcoming Disappointment With Those We Love

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Have you ever been crushed by a choice or action a loved one made? I have, quite a few times over the years, and it left me feeling like all the air was sucked out of me. I am then left struggling to overcome the disappointment I have in that person. I wrestle with my emotions following the event. My emotions range from shock, anger, denial, to sadness.. And no matter how hard I try to process, forgive, and trust.. I lose the match.

So, I finally decided to listen to the Holy Spirit and dive into God’s word for comfort and guidance. The following verse shows me who God is and the example we should follow:

Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin.

Exodus 34:6 (NLT)

Unfailing love. Two times in this passage it states these two words. Synonyms for unfailing include: constant, boundless, endless inexhaustible, steadfast. This is the type of love Yahweh has for us, and this is the type of love we should extend to others.

I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. If I use the definitions of each of these words in a sentence, it would sound something like this: I forgive your immoral behavior, your resistance toward my ways, and your actions against me. That’s alot of forgiveness and the Lord gives it over and over. This is the example we should live by in helping to overcome disappointment with those we love.

Oh friends, if only this were easy. This scripture wasn’t enough to help reign in my feelings about this wrong, but instead of giving up, I kept digging.

Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.

James 1:19 (NLT)

How I want to yell and voice my anger when I am disappointed!! The last thing I want to hear is what that person has to say, and all I want is to speak my mind! But that is not what we are instructed to do. The verse pretty much speaks for itself and really our job is to be obedient to His word and apply this command in our lives.

At this point, in my digging, I started to relax and found myself being more open to receiving God’s lesson. The Holy Spirit was quietly saying these words and reminding me that if God loves me no matter what I do, then I should love others no matter what they do.

Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.

Proverbs 10:12 (NIV)

Love covers all wrongs. So even though I am crushed in my spirit, even though I am having a difficult time wrapping my head around the choice they made, I am called to cover their wrong in love. This is called unconditional love.

(Love) is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged…Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

1 Corinthians 13: 5,7 (NLT)

Forgive and wipe the slate clean. Put down the pencil and paper in your mind and don’t keep record of what was done. Replace love with your name and then ask yourself if that is what you are practicing. I’ll go first..

Misty is not irritable, and keeps no record of being wronged. Misty never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

So to wrap this blog up, how do I overcome disappointment with those I love?

  1. I remember who God is
  2. I actively listen to the other person, take my time to respond, and do not allow my anger to dictate my response.
  3. I show and give unconditional love to the person who has made a bad choice.
  4. I forgive, learn to trust, and wipe the slate clean.

Living by grace,

Misty

Walking Through the Red Sea: Day 2

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Worry is a choice that displeases God. When you worry, you reveal that you don’t really trust God to provide all that you need.

June Hunt

No matter how many times I tell myself not to worry…I still do. I am a worrier. I constantly think about the ‘what ifs’ and try to control my future. I do hear God say that He is in control and to trust Him, but in my humanness I doubt if that is true. Which is exactly what the Israelites did.

In Exodus 14:15 God basically asks Moses why is he complaining, and tells him to have the Israelites move on.

God said to Moses: ‘Why cry out to me? Speak to the Israelites. Order them to get moving. Hold your staff high and stretch your hand out over the sea; Split the sea! The Israelites will walk through the sea on dry ground. Meanwhile I’ll make sure the Egyptians keep up their stubborn chase-I’ll use Pharoah and his entire army, his chariots and horsemen, to put my Glory on display so that the Egyptians will realize that I am God.’

Exodus 14:15-18 (Msg)

I get the sense that God may have been annoyed. He was in control and had a plan, and yet the Israelites didn’t trust Him. They did not believe the Almighty God would deliver them from the Egyptians. I think that is why he told them His plan. That way, when the Israelites saw that God was their Deliverer, they would then believe and trust who He is.

When I am in my worrying state, and don’t know what God’s plan is, is when I try to control the outcome. That behavior points out the glaring reality that I am not trusting my Holy Father. He wants our trust. He wants us, His children, to come to Him with our problems, and then trust that He will deliver us from them. We don’t need to know what His plans are, we just need to know who He is.

After Devotional: Write down all your worries on a piece of paper and lift them up to God in prayer.

Living by grace,

Misty

Walking Through the Red Sea: Day 1

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I weep sometimes at night. That is when I am alone with my thoughts. All of the hopes and dreams I had for my life that didn’t come to fruition, haunt me.

I have had several nights like these in the past. I toss and turn and raise up an honest prayer. I cry out to God and ask, ‘How long will these thoughts overwhelm me?’, ‘When will this sadness and pain leave me?’ The next morning I will feel tired and emotionally drained. I would struggle with opening my Bible and seeking God. because what’s the point? I had prayed numerous times for relief and I still felt tortured.

Have you ever felt this way? If you have, then know you are not alone! We are surrounded by great company, David, Moses, Jesus..All of them cried out to God and asked why; but, for the purpose of this study, we are going to talk about Moses and how his story relates to our trials and sufferings.

As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, ‘What it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!’ Moses answered the people, ‘Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.’

Exodus 14:10-14

If the Lord will fight for them, why wouldn’t He fight for you?

After Devotion: Study Exodus 14:10-14. What words jump out at you? What do you hear the Lord whispering to you? Write down the actions you should take.

Living by grace,

Misty