Have you ever come to a point in your walk where you questioned your beliefs? Where you’ve felt the very fibers of your once solid faith unraveling? I sat there that Sunday morning, unsure I wanted to stop the unraveling. As others stood, hands lifted high in praise, I sat, arms crossed, wondering if the God I clung to all these years had abandoned me. Was I standing in this fire alone?

The last four months were riddled with the loss of my brother, my oldest daughter renouncing her faith in Christ, and the diagnosis of my husband’s cancer. I felt like the dry bones of Ezekiel 37 – cut off, dried up, all hope gone.

Sown seeds of faith much bigger than a mustard seed wilted like flowers of a rose. One by one, the big prayers I prayed fell, from a budding rose of hope to the parched ground of my heart. I knew God laid specific prayers and burdens on my heart and, with big faith, I believed they would come to pass. Yet, there they lay as dry as the bones in the valley.

how to handle disappointment, when God says no, dealing with disappointment in God's answer, you're not alone in disappointment

Though I was immensely disappointed in the outcome of my prayers, it was ultimately God in whom I was disappointed. I knew the God of the galaxies had the power to calm a raging sea and the ability to move mountains. But the storm of my raging heart shouted “forsaken”, “abandoned”, and “alone” while mountains of disappointment moved in.

You see, I had lost confidence in God; not in His ability because I firmly believed He placed the earth on its cornerstones by His power, set the laws of nature by His wisdom, and flung the jewels into the heavens by His understanding. But, I doubted His willingness to do so for me. I viewed the situation through my understanding, filling my eyes with the unexpected circumstances.

I questioned. I doubted. I wondered. And I fought. But don’t you know, we serve a God who isn’t afraid of our wrestling with Him. After all, if we’re wrestling with God, we’re actually engaging God. If that’s you, if any of this resonates, may I invite and encourage you to take hold of His hand and be reminded:

  1. It’s okay to feel disappointed

Genesis 6:6 NIV, says, “The LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him to his Heart.” That word “regret” is another word for “disappointed in.” Since we are made in His image and likeness, feelings of disappointment are a natural response when things don’t end as we thought or hoped they would. But left unhealed, a wound can quickly grow to despair and bitterness, taking root in all areas of life. Whether it’s disappointment with others or with God, all disappointment is God’s invitation to process through our circumstances with Him.

Join me over at Crystal’s blog to finish reading this post as well as other stories from brave women just like you.

info@estherdorotik.com