Do you have disappointments from 2023? Maybe you wonder how to pass from this year into 2024 because disappointments have left you wondering, what now? Disappointments come like a boulder careening down the side of a cliff, and then rolling to the shoreline, and slipping heavily into the water, sinking. Gone.

What is gone? Your expectation. Your hope. Your dream. Whatever it was, disappointment steals. This is where we have to be careful because bitterness moves in. Bitterness will have you question God, not in faith-building ways, but in ways that cause you to doubt His goodness.

So, how do you leave disappointment behind?

Psalm 13 lets us hear from David, and he asks the LORD, how long? Is the LORD going to forget him? But, by verse 5, we see a rejoicing heart. David rejoices in God’s salvation. Not in circumstances. Not in outcomes. But in God’s salvation.

And this, friends, is where you and I can begin as we ponder letting go of a year. Maybe your year was fantastic. Even if it was, it would be extraordinary if you had not experienced at least one disappointment. So how will you let go of disappointment? How will you move beyond this sad, controlling emotion of the human condition? If you follow Jesus, then the ideas below can get you moving in the right direction.

How to Leave Disappointment Behind:

*Choose to go to the Lord and thank Him and praise Him for your eternal salvation. Rejoice. What a great salvation it is. He saved you. He saw you. You are known. He knows your name. Read Psalm 13.

*Remember, He has a plan for your life. If you are His child, His Spirit lives in you. You have a friend in Jesus. https://www.thenivbible.com/blog/god-has-a-plan-for-you/

*Confess your sin to Him. Talk to Him about your disappointment in the outcomes, or in the disappointment of family or friends. Forgive those who brought pain. All this keeps bitterness from developing in your heart. Rejoice. Choose to be glad. Read Psalm 32.

*Exercise and eat right because along with your spiritual habits, you will have ability to cope. When your body isn’t working properly, it is a distraction. As much as it depends on you, take care of your body.

*Start a new habit or keep up the habit to meet Him every morning and read His Word and pray to Him. This gets your day started in submission to His plan and His ways. Pray for the desire to meet Him every morning. Read Psalm 42.https://valerierumfelt.com/2023/09/25/why-i-meet-with-god-in-the-morning-2/

Let’s read Psalm 13, Psalm 32, and Psalm 42 and let God’s Spirit speak to us and get a path for entering the new year, leaving disappointments behind and realize that God is in control. Let’s go with His plan. He is worthy of our trust. He is with us.

©Valerie Rumfelt