Dealing With The Disappointment of Delays
Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves
rests between his shoulders.
~Deuteronomy 33:12 (NIV)
Today I was supposed to be flying to
Kenya.
This is something I’ve dreamed of for decades. I’ve felt this holy call to help the people of Africa since my thirties and God has opened up opportunities through giving in Kenya and Uganda.
A portion of the profits from my book Water In The Desert went to a project in Turkana, Kenya with Crossroads Relief and Development. You can watch a short video that Cheryl Weber and I created to share about this project that blessed hundreds of families living in the desert with a Quarter Acre plot of irrigated land that is growing gardens in the desert! View on my website here.
So, when I was invited to go on a Missionary Ventures Canada trip to Kenya with some friends I was excited to say yes, but that was long before the Corona Virus.
Before Corona
Even before the Corona Virus hit Kenya, there were locust swarms. We had been gauging the locust situation for a while and decided we’d go regardless because locusts wouldn’t kill us, but by the time the virus hit Kenya it had been renamed COVID-19 and our missions trip had to be indefinitely postponed. Darlene, Doreen, Judy, Carla and I were heart-broken by this delay.
I thought I had grieved the trip when we had to cancel two weeks ago but I found myself mourning it again yesterday and very much today; so much so, that I bumped the devotion I wrote for this week and will send out next week. I thought maybe there are lots of you who are feeling what I’m feeling right now? Maybe you’ve had big life goals or dreams delayed.
Delays
My daughter has friends who had to delay their weddings… an author friend of ours, Mark Buchanan had to come home after just arriving in Europe for his two-year-in-the-making writing trip to complete research for his next book… I had to delay the launch of my two-year-in-the-making REFRESH group… many of us are dealing with the delay of work and getting paid.
There are delays all around us and they can really get you down.
Sometimes you just have to lean into the pain and let it out. The safest place I know where to do that is mentioned in this week’s verse… square in between the shoulders of our God; finding refuge from disappointment, laying in the hollow of His chest.
If you’re struggling with the disappointment of delays like me, don’t keep trying to act like it doesn’t bother you. Let it out with God and stay there long enough, so the peace of His presence washes over you and dissolves the discouragement.
Prayer
Father… I thank You for
the invitation to place head on your chest, to nestle in and bring You my hopes,
fears, triumphs, tragedies and disappointments. I’m so glad you’re not a
fair-weather God who’s only wanting relationship with me for what I do for You. Your Word makes it clear that You just want
to be my friend. So, I’m asking You to
be my refuge, to be my hope today. Help
me take all that’s disappointing and discouraging me and leave it with You
because I trust You’re working all things out for my good! In Jesus Name…Amen
- Deuteronomy 33:12, 28
- Psalm 60:5
- James 2:23
- John 15:15
#musicpic SONG: Cody Carnes – Run To The Father (Live at Motion Conference)
Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/HTHS4W1bPj8
If you liked the refreshing in this #SoulH2O devotion, you’ll love my latest Soul H2O Devotional book: 40 Thirst Quenching Devotions for Women from our Legacy Works Online Store.
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