Disappointment part 1
In the last Rant series we talked about how having expectations dooms you to disappointment. Because if you expect one thing to happen, that means there's only one way you WON'T be disappointed. And about a million billion trillion ways that you will be. So I thought we should follow that up with a few days of talking about what happens when you ARE disappointed. Dealing with disappointment. And, really, that's it right there. You can't let it wreck you when things don't go your way. You have to deal with it. Because, to quote Rocky Balboa, "Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!" And that's another way of saying, "For we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7). Because if you just accept what the world throws at you--what you see, or what you hear when the world is screaming at the top of its lungs--you can get tripped up. You can get buried. But there's another option. A more excellent way. Look at Hebrews 12:1, "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us." Lay aside what the world throws at you and walk by faith. Keep moving forward. That's how winning is done. Run with patience. Don't let every bump in the road destroy your whole trip. Life happens. Every day. To all of us. But you don't have to let life wreck you. And I think the key is being "compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses." Letting people help you. I don't think asking for help is a sign of weakness. I think its a sign of wisdom. Because its not good for man to be alone. We're all in this together. We can't do it all by ourselves. We need each other. And if I stumble, and you grab ahold of me, I might not fall at all. Which--and this is my last memory verse for today, I promise, is what I think Jude 1:24 is talking about: "Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy." He keeps us from falling by putting us in position to keep each other from falling. Things work out better when we work together. What's that old saying? "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." Chances are life's going to disappoint you. Even when you manage your expectations. But if you have people in your life who care about you, you can overcome those disappointments. You can get hit and keep moving forward. You can walk by faith. Faith in God. Faith in love. Faith in each other. Helping each other. Living with each other. Loving each other!