When people let you down

At some stage in your life someone around you will disappoint you - family, friends, whoever you surround yourself with. People let you down all the time and a lot of the times it is not intentional. Sometimes we take it more personally; allow ourselves to be hurt more easily and feel more disappointment and therefore think it is intentional. Maybe our expectations were unrealistic from the beginning. You know how it is when you’re feeling miserable or down for some reason disappointments snow ball and come tumbling down on you. On that day seems like everyone you have ever known has hurt or disappointed you in some way. 
I think I have given some people more credit than others or I expected more from them, we expect more from the ones we admire and confide in and then it happens they just let you down. It’s such a bad feeling that I wish I could move and live on a deserted island on my own, talk to the birds and the rocks cause they really have time to listen and don’t talk back…as long as we live with others we will always feel disappointment.

Being let down especially affects and makes it difficult to go to church and worship God. It is such a common feeling finding it impossible to go to church because our minds are full of negative thoughts about another person.

It’s never going to get better or get any easier and so I was trying to come up with a self-help list for myself:

H2 avoid negativity

H2 be positive

H2 spot the pessimist & avoid them

H2 surround myself with people that make me feel emotionally stronger … and then I started thinking about that deserted island again, at times it seems like the best and only solution.

But I found this and it has ended up in some kind of list or five points for me – it’s a song a poem and a promise  – it’s Psalm 27

¹ The LORD is my light and my salvation
whom shall I fear? 

The LORD is the stronghold of my life

   of whom shall I be afraid? 
² When the wicked advance against me 
to devour me, 

it is my enemies and my foes 

   who will stumble and fall. 

³ Though an army besiege me, 

   my heart will not fear; 

though war break out against me, 

   even then I will be confident. 
⁴ One thing I ask from the LORD, 
this only do I seek: 

that I may dwell in the house of the LORD 

   all the days of my life, 

to gaze on the beauty of the LORD 

   and to seek him in his temple. 

⁵ For in the day of trouble 

   he will keep me safe in his dwelling; 

he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent 

   and set me high upon a rock. 
⁶ Then my head will be exalted 
above the enemies who surround me; 

at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; 

   I will sing and make music to the LORD. 
⁷ Hear my voice when I call, LORD; 
be merciful to me and answer me. 

⁸ My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” 

   Your face, LORD, I will seek. 

⁹ Do not hide your face from me, 

   do not turn your servant away in anger; 

   you have been my helper. 

Do not reject me or forsake me, 

   God my Savior. 

¹⁰ Though my father and mother forsake me, 

   the LORD will receive me. 

¹¹ Teach me your way, LORD; 

   lead me in a straight path 

   because of my oppressors. 

¹² Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, 

   for false witnesses rise up against me, 

   spouting malicious accusations. 
¹³ I remain confident of this: 
I will see the goodness of the LORD 

   in the land of the living. 

¹⁴ Wait for the LORD; 

   be strong and take heart 

   and wait for the LORD.

So here are the five points, I finally have a list! Forget the rest of the world, God never lets you down, when you’re down and feel let down by the world and other people remember - He never lets us down, His promises are real and He’ll keep all of them.

• Step One - Seek the Lord (verse 4,8)
• Step Two - Sing to the Lord (the whole of Psalm 27 )
• Step Three - Serve the Lord (verse 9 - no time to quit)
• Step Four - See the Lord (verse 13 - believing is seeing)
• Step Five - Stop for the Lord (verse 14 - wait...wait...wait...be patient)

That's it, beautiful and it would go so well in a deserted island, but as that is not possible today I will read the Psalm one more time.

xxx