It's Not Supposed to Be This Way: Finding Unexpected Strength When Disappointments Leave You Shattered

by Lysa TerKeurst

But what I figured out I had to deal with first was my fear of other people’s thoughts, opinions, whispers, and comments.

I was surprised where God wanted me to start. Not with them. But with me. Not with their words. But with my fear.

But with the help of the Holy Spirit in me, I can absolutely learn to control how much I allow the fear of their opinions to have access to my life.

But frustration can turn into forward motion when I take on the project of me. My fears. My worries based in fear. And my anxiety bathed in fear.

Fear isn’t something you can sweep up into a pile and discard. It isn’t physical. It hovers and haunts us in the spiritual realm. It attacks us in the unseen.

I kept mentally proclaiming

over

and over that this spirit of fear is not from God...

The enemy wants us paralyzed and compromised by the whispers and doubts and what-ifs and opinions and accusations and misunderstandings and all the other hissing handcuffs crafted by fear.

What gives power to all that I fear others are thinking and accusing and saying isn’t the people themselves.

I’m the one who decides if their statements have power over me or not.

And my desperate desire to stay...

And I don’t want to stand exposed, because I don’t know how to do it and feel unashamed.

The enemy wants us paralyzed and compromised by what-ifs, opinions, accusations, and misunderstandings.

When in reality what’s best about me comes to the forefront when I’m closest to the way God created me, naked and unashamed.

Adam and Eve could do

this, because they had no other opinions to contend with but the absolute love of God Himself.

Naked. Unashamed. And, therefore, completely unafraid.

It was my return to garden thinking. That garden reality that I can stand naked with no other opinion to contend with but the absolute love of God Himself.

But if someone says

something about me that I’ve already wondered about myself, I probably won’t be able to discern if it’s ridiculous or not.

But instead of blaming and shaming them, God traded their fig leaves for fur. He handmade garments of skin to cover them.

I’d turn to you, with tears of true understanding, and whisper, “Who told you that you were naked? Who told you that you are anything less than a most glorious creation of the Almighty God? Who spoke words over you and about you that stripped you bare and broke your heart?”

Whatever statement was spoken to you that

came against the truth

must be calle...

God’s Word is the Truth. And His Truth says you are a holy and dearly loved child of your heavenly Father. You are wonderfully made. You are a treasure. You are beautiful. You are fully known by Him and ...

You are set apart. No matter what you’ve done or what’s been done to you, these words ...

I’m so quick to remember others’ hurtful words but slow to remember God’s healing words.

We

must set our minds and our hearts on things above by choosing to ...

repeat God’s words, and believe God’s w...

We must let God’s Word become the words we park our minds and hearts on. We must let God’s Word b...

We must let God’s Word

become the words we believe and receive as truth. We must let God’s Word become the words of our story.

And might you have compassion for yourself?

We must let God’s Word become the words of our story.

I confess that I spend too much time mentally revisiting the hurtful words of others instead of purposefully reminding my soul of healing words from You. I come to You today with a soul that is tired. Tired of running. Tired of hiding. Tired of feeling like I’m never quite enough. Help me receive and believe the words that You say are true about me. That I am a treasure. That I am beautiful. That I am

chosen and set apart. Even with all my flaws. Even with all these scars. Strip away every label, every lie, and even the masks I’ve desperately tried to hold in place, and help me simply stand before You today. Naked and unashamed. Fully known and lavishly loved. In Jesus’ name, amen.

The peaceful predictability of what you thought would be

your life is suddenly replaced by a very unexpected darkness and silence you aren’t used to.

We hear it when we try to overcome what has been and step into what could be.

God wants us transformed, but Satan wants us paralyzed.

So when we hear thoughts like I’m not good enough that cause us to shrink away, we must keep in mind that the enemy will do anything he

can to prevent us from moving closer to God or connecting more deeply with other people. This “truth” we think...

God wants us near, no matter our imperfections. While God converts with

truth, the enemy perverts the truth.

It’s so much more freeing to simply show up and be a finder of the good.

A sliver of light sweetness in this world wrought with dark judgments, disgruntled comments, jagged-edged opinions, and lofty huffs of disgust.

What will we do with disappointment?