Not Part of the PlanSample

Day One: When Dreams Don’t Come True

Bethany and I have found ourselves at the crossroads of this tension of unmet expectations and lost dreams many times. As we’ve each wrestled with our own disappointments, unfulfilled longings, and pain, we’ve had to stare these questions straight in the eyes. Is God totally sovereign right now in this really hard moment, or isn’t He? Is He actually good in this moment, even though I can’t see past the pain I’m feeling?

As you face your own set of twists and turns on the mysterious road of life, you will have to step into this tension too. You can’t ignore it. Because here’s the reality: what you choose to believe about God in the deepest, darkest corners of your heart will drastically impact the way you respond to all of life. Especially the hard stuff.

There’s a tiny verse in Psalm 138 that has been an anchor for both of us in recent years. It’s a little promise that can easily go unnoticed, but it holds the key to all of life’s craziness. Here it is: 

The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. (v. 8)

This verse gets everything right, where we get most everything wrong. It reminds us that the Lord has a plan. That He has a good purpose for our lives. He cares for us. He sees us. He’s working in and through us for His glory. His love is steadfast and endures forever. Yes, His purposes might include suffering, pain, and trials, but they’re not for nothing. His greatest aim is to draw us closer to Him and to shape our character to become more like Christ’s.

He wants to deepen our faith through our grief. He wants to show us His love and comfort through our unfulfilled longings. He wants to use our lives as a testimony of His faithfulness. He wants to point our lost and broken world back to the Savior, Jesus Christ.

Hang with us, sis. Don’t lose heart. Look beyond the pain of your moment. The valleys are real and they’re hard, but there’s so much more God is doing.

Let’s learn how to see life through a lens of hope.

As you begin your journey this week, we pray God uses it to breathe life and hope back into your veins. Take a moment now to write your own prayer to God. Pour out your heart, and ask Him to do a new work in your life. He loves you and cares deeply for you.