We all experience times of disappointment or when things don’t work out as we had planned. Oftentimes one of the greatest sources of pain is not what actually happened… but what we expected would happen.
We expect people to understand us, support us, include us, comfort us, respond the right way, or love us the way we love them. We expect circumstances to work out perfectly and prayers to be answered quickly. And when those expectations are unmet, our peace can begin to fail, unravel and we can feel disappointed and sad.
It’s important to know that we can all acknowledge and take a moment to mourn the things that maybe didn’t work out the way we had hoped or planned. Life teaches us different lessons, and it’s important for us to be ok with mourning the losses…but at the same time we also need to be open to learning, growing and coming to God to receive His wisdom on how to react to the circumstances we may be facing.
The Savior taught us something beautiful in John chapter 14. This is when Jesus is speaking to His disciples during a deeply uncertain and emotional moment. He knew they were afraid. He knew things would not unfold the way they had hoped. And yet He lovingly told them:
“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.” John 14:1
I love that reminder! The reason I’m writing this message, is because I had an experience this week with “expectations” not going the way I had planned. I found myself “mourning” what I had hoped would happen. But I made a choice to get on my knees and pray. I asked God to help me process my emotions and I love what He did for me after praying.
I felt the Lord speak to my heart and He told me to look at the scriptures on my nightstand and just open them. When I happened to open to John 14 and I began reading. I could feel that the lord was speaking directly to me! 🥹 He told me to “not let my heart be troubled by those things”. He told me to BELIEVE IN GOD AND BELIEVE IN HIM! In my Savior Jesus Christ who had just answered another one of my prayers. I felt so grateful for that. 😭💖
He didn’t tell me anything about my circumstances changing. In fact, nothing had changed at that moment. But I realized that there was absolute power in the words of Christ. I could allow the circumstances to get to me and bring me down. OR, I could allow myself to believe in the Savior! In His wisdom for my life and the plan that He has for me. I could put my trust in God more than I trust in people, finances, health, circumstances or anything else that I put above God.
I felt strongly and I actually told my kids that Jesus Christ is the BEST THERAPIST IN THE WORLD!! 😝🌎 I came to Him when I needed Him and He spoke directly to my heart at the moment when I needed Him to. By inviting me to read John 14: 13-14 Where He says;
13. “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.”
Those words are exactly what I needed to hear! I came to Him and asked Him to help me process my emotions and calm my heart and after reading that I asked! believing that Jesus Christ could do that for me, and He did!!! I instantly felt my mind calming down. My thoughts stopped worrying me and taking over my mind and heart with that heaviness…My heart became peaceful and I realized that I was actually receiving this directly from God! My circumstances didn’t change, but He changed ME! He calmed my mind and heart. & that’s what I needed. ❤️❤️❤️
He invites all of us to TRUST HIM. Life won’t be perfect or the way we hope sometimes. But He is ready to help us through it and heal our troubled hearts. He is truly the only one who can provide the peace that is impossible to get through any other means. No amount of money, power, health, prosperity or whatever can provide the peace of God.
🕊️I learned a lesson this week; and it’s that a lot of our own emotional exhaustion comes from unconsciously handing our “inner peace” over to things we can’t control! 😳
I realized that that’s exactly what I did this week. I handed over my emotions to circumstances or people. 🤦🏻♀️ Instead of protecting my inner peace, controlling my emotions better and most importantly coming to the BEST THERAPIST! 😉 JESUS CHRIST to allow Him to speak to my heart and guide my mind and heart to what I call “divine calm.” I call it that, because the world can’t understand what that feels like. But when God can calm your heart, and mind…you know what that feels like, and it is divine, beautiful and a solid peace that is not found anywhere else. 💛
So, let’s recognize how we hand over our emotions based on
• another person’s choices
• other people’s opinions
• outcomes
• timing
• plans
• disappointments
• unmet hopes
When we build our emotional stability on changing circumstances, our hearts rise and fall constantly. & there’s no peace in that. 😣
But Jesus Christ offers a steadier foundation. 💪🏼🥰The Savior never promised a life free of disappointment. But He did promise HIS PRESENCE TO BE WITH US IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES! 🥹 & isn’t that amazing?!?
I hope that we can have the eyes to see, recognize and enjoy the ABUNDANCE of God’s love when we can feel Him be so present in our lives. From the little daily blessings, to the moments when prayers are answered…He truly is there and we are so richly blessed by those experiences. I don’t think we recognize how blessed we are most of the time. Being RICH in God, is definitely way better and more fulfilling than being rich in the ways of the world. $🤷🏻♀️
So, no matter what you’re going through today. Remember that you don’t have to hand over your emotions to circumstances or people etc. You can control and protect your feelings and emotions. You can come to God and BELIEVE IN HIM! Believe in what only HE can provide to your heart and mind.
This is what He tells you today; 🥹
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” 💛John 14:27
The world’s peace says:
“I’ll be okay when everyone else changes.”
Christ’s peace says:
“You can still be okay even while things remain unfinished, uncertain, or imperfect.”❤️🥹🙏🏼
How beautiful is that?!? That Christ can be with us in this very imperfect and possibly disappointing moment, and yet we can be FILLED with His peace and His love. Which is really all we need for today. 🥹🤍🙏🏼
That kind of peace is deeply beautiful and spiritual. I hope that each one of us can come to God ourselves and ask Him for it. He promised that we could ask in the name of Jesus Christ, and we will receive! That the father may be glorified in the Son. 🥹 He wants to hear us! Help us and experience for ourselves what having true faith in Christ is really about. We just need to believe, ask and act.
As we choose to come to Him we will see that our Savior can allow us to surrender the illusion that we must control everything around us in order to feel safe inside ourselves.
Sometimes healing begins when we stop asking:
“Why didn’t this person or circumstances meet my expectations?”….
And instead ask:
“How can I stay connected to Christ regardless of what happens around me?” 🥹❤️🙏🏼
I hope that you know that Jesus Christ is the only completely steady source of love, truth, comfort, and understanding throughout your life. When People, even good people, things, situations or circumstances fail us or shift. Or when plans collapse, just know that Christ truly is the one that remains constant regardless of the ups and downs of life.
He understands every disappointment that we carry quietly in our hearts. He knows the grief of feeling unseen, let down, forgotten, or emotionally overwhelmed. And unlike the world, He never withdraws His love when we are struggling. The more we anchor ourselves in Him, the less power circumstances have over our emotional state. ⚓️😌
Not because our feelings don’t matter. But because His presence becomes greater than the storms we may be facing.
So, we must remember to stop placing the weight of our peace into human hands or circumstances. Instead I invite each one of us to place it into the hands of our Savior Jesus Christ instead. 🤲🏼❤️
He is not asking us to pretend that things do not hurt. He is asking us to remember that hurt does not have to own you. 🙂 That you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you and that all will be ok as you allow Him to be with you from one moment to the next.
Our meditation tonight in class will be similar to this. I want to share it on here in case many of your aren’t able to make it to class or for when you need to read it or practice it yourselves.
Close your eyes for a moment and take a slow breath in.
Unclench your jaw. Relax your shoulders. Let your hands rest softly.
Take some deep breaths and calm your mind and heart.
When you feel at peace, imagine yourself placing every unmet expectation into the Savior’s hands:
the conversations that hurt,
the plans that failed,
the loneliness,
the frustration,
the longing for things to be different.
Picture Him receiving it all with complete understanding and perfect compassion.
Breathe again.
As you exhale, quietly repeat:
“Lord, I trust Thee more than I trust my circumstances.”
Sit in that stillness for a moment.
Let your nervous system remember that peace is possible even before everything is resolved.
Out physical goal for the week is:
Spend at least 20 minutes each day moving your body gently. For example; walking outside, stretching, lifting weights, or breathing deeply in the sunlight. Let movement become a reminder that your body was created to carry peace, not just stress.
& our spiritual goal for the week is:
To read John chapter 14 slowly this week. Maybe each day, choose one verse to focus on and ask:
“What is the Savior teaching me about trust, peace, and fear?”
Write down one thing each day that you are choosing to release into Christ’s hands.
& remind yourself that true healing doesn’t come from finally being able to control life, people or circumstances. It comes from learning that even in uncertainty, we are safely held by the Savior of the world. 🌎 or the BEST therapist in the world 😉❤️🙏🏼
Love you all and hope that you can make it tonight to release stress and strengthen yourself and also to release what feels heavy. Hope that you can give yourself this gift today and invite others to benefit as well. 🥰
Love,
Lili 🌸
