Different than I Dreamed For
Life doesn’t always play out the way we dreamed it would. We expect the happily-ever-after to stay indefinitely, but sometimes we find ourselves in circumstances we never imagined we would have to face. Looking back, we realize we took much for granted; close-knit families gathering often to share meals and sing around a bonfire; receiving only good reports from doctors; cherished loved ones dropping by for visits and tea; watching nightly news that doesn’t keep us up at night afraid of what could possibly happen next.
Unfortunately, many of our dreams have turned into disappointments. We try to hold on to the shattered pieces but they slip through tightly clenched fingers. We find that the tighter we grasp the pieces, the less we are able to hold on to them.
We become discouraged. It feels like God has good plans and fulfilled promises for everyone else but us. Where is God’s plan for our welfare and hope? (Jeremiah 29:11). How is God working our disappointments into something good? (Romans 8:28). We wait for God to hear our cries and rescue us from a life we never wanted and certainly never asked for.
I think an attitude adjustment is needed. We need a renewed perspective.
Corrie ten Boom, who was imprisoned in the Ravensbruck concentration camp for helping Jews escape the Nazis during World War ll, experienced some shattered dreams and giant disappointments herself. But she didn’t let her circumstances derail her from trusting God. She wisely stated, “When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.” Corrie trusted God with her disappointments. Even while in a tortuous concentration camp and even though she lost her beloved family, Corrie trusted God.
We must trust God with our own disappointments. We must choose to believe His promise to work all things together for the good that He has distinctly designed for us. He uses every circumstance to make us more like Jesus (Romans 8: 29). He takes all the chaos and confusion, the pain, and frustrations to showcase His peace and love in the midst of hopeless circumstances. He makes a way right through the impossible. I believe it! Believe it with me!
Thus, when disappointments and discouragements overwhelm us, we must remember that God is faithful to lead and guide us. He holds us up and even carries us when we need Him to. He has plowed paths through rivers and fires before, and I believe He can do it again (Isaiah 43).
Instead of trying to cling to the fragments of shattered dreams, we should offer them with open hands to our God who is trustworthy and faithful. Even though we don’t always understand, we must believe His ways are best. He fills us with His peace and replaces our disappointments with courage and hope. Let’s trust Him to fill our empty hands with more than we could ever hope for or imagine (Ephesians 3: 20).
