After 76 years of life, there is one thing I have discovered … part of living is learning to handle disappointments. Life is not fair, essentially in that it does not treat us all the same.
Our bodies age differently. Disease strikes us (or doesn’t) differently. We have differing talents and opportunities. While we strive for equality and equity in all forms of government, justice, economics, education, it does not always happen.
We each have different hopes and dreams. When those hopes and dreams are not realized, disappointment often floods our soul, sometimes accompanied by a bit of envy or jealousy. We wish we could have or do what others possess or experience.
You would think after 76 years disappointments would not hurt as much. But they still do. Maybe they even hurt a bit more because they are often compounded with disappointments in the past, or merged with the realization that there is not much I can do about them anymore.
What we experience in this life on this earth is often not fair. Scripture often reminds us of the difficulties we will face and the attitudes we will need when those afflictions come our way.
Romans 5:1-5: “Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have also obtained access through Him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” [HCSB]
Life may disappoint, but I never need worry that the hope I have placed in God will disappoint. I needed that this morning.
