August 1, 2022

Dear Ones,

Hope you had a wonderful weekend. This morning I made Al’s favorite cookies and am soon going to Aldi’s and my exercise class. It’s another beautiful summer day and already August!

Devotions from Judy’s heart

   We’ve all had disappointments in our lives  and when things didn’t turn out as we hoped, may have left us discouraged. Or maybe we didn’t get the desired promotion; or could be we were counting on someone and they didn’t treat us fair and left us defenseless. But if we are to move on in our lives, we have to let go of our past regrets and disappointments and not get resentful.

  I am reading a book by Juliet Ann Canha, a pastor, counselor, speaker and writer, who shares how important it is to let go of those disappointing things of our past that we are holding on to; otherwise, we have limited space for the Lord and also caring for others. She names a few disappointments, some of which we may identify with.

    Are we disappointed with God when He didn’t answer in the way we were hoping for? David and others express their displeasure quite explicitly in the Psalms of such disappointing times; but we also read how they went on to put their trust in the Lord.

    We could be disappointed with ourself for things we have done or wish we would not have done. The enemy will be sure to remind us of those things and bring them up again and again, but we need to resist his tactics

  Disappointment could come from those in leadership over us. Juliet names governmental leaders, parents, church leaders, bosses, or people we are leading. Instead of complaining and criticizing them, we need to pray for them.

   We may be disappointed with life itself and have a broken heart. Bitterness can also take root. The Lord wants to heal that in us and restore us which will also then enable us to reach out to others.

    Juliet gives the key of what we should do with all our disappointments and she actually suggests we respond with joy. Really!  We can only do this if we focus on the end result. James says that we should consider it joy when these kinds of challenges come at us and in James 1:3-4 (NRSV) says, “because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.”

   Let us not delay but let go of our disappointments and give them all to the Lord. He will bring on the new and will take us on to maturity.

Challenge for today: Ask the Lord to give you joy and strength the next time you face a disappointment in your life.