7 things to do When You are disappointed

A relationship does not work out, a job does not go through, or your prodigal child that you have been praying for does not seem to leave their rebellious life. We all have experienced times of disappointment, and it is a normal part of life. What is important to know is that if disappointment is not dealt with, it can eventually lead to depression. This is a scheme from the enemy. Something you really wanted does not work out, you dwell on why it did not work out, and eventually you begin to feel depressed.

Your thoughts will always follow your behavior.

7 Things to do when you feel disappointed:

1.      Consider that what may have not worked out could be God’s doing. Perhaps, He was protecting you from something you did not even know about.

2.      Go before God and ask Him to help you deal with your disappointment, and to show you the truth.

3.      Take every thought captive. Do not let your mind wander and think whatever it wants. When something disappointing has happened in your life it is natural to want to feel sorry for yourself or even think about it endlessly, but do not go there! IT IS A TRAP THAT WILL LEAD TO DEPRESSION.

4.      Do not feel sorry for yourself and “lick your wounds.” Go to God and tell Him how you feel and then release the need to feel sorry for what has happened to you.

5.      Realize that everyone, not just you, will have times that things disappoint them. It is what you do with the disappointment that will make the difference.

6.      Get up again. Shake it off. Cry if you need to, but then move on! That may sound harsh, but it is not. The enemy would love for you to “camp out” in your disappointment. He hopes you will stay a while so that it will develop into total despair.

7.      Sit at Jesus’ feet as long as you need to for Him to speak to you and lift off whatever is causing you to feel disappointed.

All kinds of discouraging encounters can happen to us. When they seem to pile-up on us, that is when we need to be most aware. One disappointment in our lives can be tough, but when a series of disappointments come at us, that can paralyzing if we are not careful. Recognize those times in your life when it seems that one thing after another is occurring in your life to bring you discouragement. Discouragement is always rooted from the pits of hell, and is never originated from God. Check the source, is it God bringing discouragement or the enemy? Think about where you are at in your life that so much discouragement is coming your way. It is always a set-up to defeat you.

Ask yourself the following questions:

1.      Are you getting free from some sin area in your life, or have completely been set-free from some long-term sin in your life?

2.      Are you standing for the truth in God’s Word?

3.      Are you using your life to better the Kingdom of God?

4.      Have you recently given your testimony somewhere?

Answering yes to any of the above questions could be a very good indicator why so much discouragement has come your way. Ask God to show you. Keep moving forward, do not stop and look at all what has gone wrong, and resist the enemy and he will flee from you. Worshiping

 and praising God will lift off feelings of discouragement. Keeping things in perspective as well as counting all that is a blessing in your life will help.

What about you? How do you deal with disappointment in your life?

Prescriptions for Stress, Anxiety, and Fear

Are there things in your life that seem to constantly cause you stress, anxiety or fear? Are you overwhelmed at times and find it difficult to sleep at night? 90% of what we worry about never really happens, so then why do we worry, stress and plagued by daunting fears? The enemy magnifies those difficult or trying circumstances in our lives, and when we take our eyes off of Jesus and onto these nagging problems we lose perspective. When our eyes are off the Helper, we can easily slip into stress, anxiety and fear. The enemy shows us worst-case scenarios and we begin speaking out what those scenarios look like, but watch out when you begin agreeing with what the enemy says about your circumstances. A lot of the times, the enemy

throws one circumstance after another at us, hoping we will take the bait of at least one of them. There is a “wearing-out” the enemy deploys upon us. You may have felt super strong with the first second, and maybe even the third difficult circumstance, but when they keep coming you better run to the throne of God quickly. When you feel yourself weakening and getting spiritually fatigued, it’s time to run quickly (even and especially if you don’t feel like it) to the feet of Jesus. These schemes diverted at you are not to be taken lightly or not taken seriously. We are never to fear our enemy, but we must know when we are beginning to get attacked.

Another way to know the enemy is trying to get you stirred-up is that you lose your peace and joy and you become restless, even stressed, anxious and fearful. Random thoughts pop into your mind. You try and take every thought captive but there are so many thoughts coming you find it more and more difficult to gain a hold on the thoughts. When this happens recognize this is a scheme and a plan from the enemy and you must begin to cry out to God for His help.

There are some prescriptions I use when I feel attacked, stressed, anxious and fearful. The prescription does not come in a bottle or pill but through the following:

Prescription for Stress

Stop what you’re doing and go to the throne of God; don’t wait!

Trust God even if it looks big and out of control and your feelings say something else.

Rest in God alone and His help; don’t try and figure out the outcomes!

Evaluate if you are tired, hungry, or sick? If you are, you need to take care of those needs.

Sing, worship the Lord. You will feel a lift and the enemy will have to flee!

Surrender all fear, worries, anxieties, and concerns to God; do not hold on to them!

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Prescription for Anxiety

Admit and confess you have been worrying and you don’t have all the answers.

Never give the enemy a foothold by speaking out what he shows you.

X-amine the reasons you are anxious and speak the truth over every anxious thought.

Identify the lies of the enemy concerning every anxious thought and replace immediately with the truth of God’s word.

Evaluate if all your anxiety and worrying is helping and changing things or making you sick, tired

and weak?

Turn your anxieties to God and give them to Him. Do not hold on to them!

Yearn to have a different life! You do not have to live with anxiety!

 Prescription for Fear

Filter out all fears immediately. When fears come, pull them down, stop them, and replace with faith-filled statements, such as, “I will not live in fear.”

Entertain thoughts are lovely, of a good report, and praiseworthy.

Accept that you have a real enemy and you will have to be aggressive in your thought life.

Run to Jesus! Do not let the enemy terrorize you and cause you to have what-if fears.

To have peace and the joy of the Lord sometimes you have to fight, other times you have to be still until the attack has passed. Ask Jesus to show you what to do, but ask! If you are feeling those nagging thoughts of stress, anxiety or fear, take these prescriptions and begin to apply them.

If you need additional prayer, Biblical counseling, or just some encouragement, you can go to my website @ www.christianhopecounseling.com or to Gospel Guidance @ www.gospelguidance.com/5311-sreck