By: Juliet Constantine

Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; (Romans 12:12)
 

She was sad and depressed. Her world as she knew it came crashing down. All hope was gone. Disappointed and dejected, depression sets in. She could no longer see the beauty around her, the blue in the sky, or the greenery of the hills. Her heart cries for understanding while her eyes remained dry. It all seemed so final. She didn’t see it coming. Why did God allowed it to happen?

Can you relate? I am sure Leah Jacob would. Hers was a life of disappointment from the start. Why did God made her with a tender eye? Why was she always overlooked in favor of her sister? Why had her father’s evil scheming placed her in a loveless marriage? Why was she yearning for the love of a man she would never have?

Thankfully, Leah did not stay on the avenue of complaining. Even though there seemed no way of winning the love of her husband, she had to try – even to take the little that she could get with the hope that one day she would be the favored one. And so her prayer life began in more earnest. You can understand that desperate situations require desperate measures. She had to find a way. She didn’t possess physical beauty nor could she depend on the love of her husband. Being depressed wouldn’t help her already ugly situation. Cursing and fighting would prove futile.

What could she do? To whom could she turn? Praise the Lord she knew a God who answered prayers. She took her troubles to the Lord in prayer. In the closet of her tent she prayed for a breakthrough. She did not ask God to take her out of her situation. She asked for a breakthrough. And God answered. God opened her womb and made her descendants the lineage of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer.

If you want to overcome disappointments, learn this lesson from Leah Jacob. Take it to the Lord in prayer. Payer is not just taking our selfish wish list to God. We should take it ALL, even our disappointments, to the Lord in prayer. How different our situations would’ve been had we taken it all to God in prayer. It is true that in these times, we pray even less. But to whom should we go when our hearts are breaking, when we are sore disappointed? Shouldn’t we run to the mender of hearts, our Rock?

There are many things in this life that we will be disappointed about. Maybe it’s the leadership style of our employer, our pastor, or our spouse. Are you disappointed in the way God’s affairs of His Church are being handled? Are you disappointed in the handling of your country’s affairs? There’s no need to murmur or complain. Just take it to the Lord in prayer. Like Leah Jacob, ask Him to grant you the strength to accept the things you cannot change, the courage to change the things you can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Ask Him to intervene and turn things around to His name’s honor and glory.

In naming her first two sons, Lead proudly declared that the Lord looked on her situation and the Lord heard her prayer. We do serve a all-seeing and all-hearing God. His ears are not stopped so that He cannot hear no His eyes shut that He cannot see. He sees you and He hears you. Go to Him in prayer. In the midst of your disappointments and struggles, God can turn them around and make you a blessing. So much so that you will declare:

Disappointments? What disappointments?

Leah Jacob made the wise decision to pray instead of complaining. She sang and talked praises to God instead of scheming like her husband and father. She had no need to hide false gods when she left home because the God of Heaven was her Father, comforter and friend. Because of her praying heart, God turned her disappointments into triumphs, into appointments. He will do the same for you and me.

Our Heavenly Father, we pray so little when You are more than willing and able to relieve our hurts and disappointments. Please help us to allow You to turn our disappointments into appointments to Your name’s honor and glory. This is our prayer in Jesus’ name, amen.
 

Copyrighted by Juliet Constantine 2014 (for “Alone With God – Finding Jesus In The Scriptures” Daily Devotional)