How to Recover – Life’s Guaranteed Heartaches & Disappointments
How to Recover – Life’s Guaranteed Heartaches and Disappointments
We will have disappointments and heartaches.
In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. John 16:33b
Today, I want to talk about how to recover from life’s guaranteed heartaches and disappointments. I’ve gone through some tough times and I’m sure you have as well. Just this year, I’ve been faced with some disappointments that were difficult, to say the least. I’ve had to deal with the loss of a loved one, bad news about a friend’s situation, and just some surprising and crazy ordeals. Some things caught me off guard and others were expected – gradual and progressive disappointments that you knew were coming.
Each month it seems as if my prayer list grows longer. It’s filled with people who are hurting or knows someone who is hurting or devastated by some bad news. Even as I write this post, I was blindsided by some pretty devastating news. So we must remember that there is hope, joy, and many celebrations on the other side of our pains. From childhood until the time we leave this earth, we will suffer disappointments. People will disappoint you, life will be difficult, but with Jesus, there is joy and hope on the other side of the mountain. Someone said that peace does not mean you are in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means that you can be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.
Heartache is all around, but God is able to heal the broken-hearted.
How to Recover from Heartache
As a matter of fact, I was at the grocery store this week having a conversation with the cashier. I asked her about her life and her family. She said everything was fine, but as I turned to leave she stopped me and asked if I would pray for her mother who is ill and scheduled for heart surgery. You see hurt is all around and God knows that. Jesus said in John 16:33 that we will have tribulation, but he also goes on to tell us that we can be of good cheer because he has already overcome everything that we’ll have to go through. He conquered it all on the cross!
After dealing with some pretty disturbing disappointments and seeing some friends that had suffered the same, I began to wonder what are some ways we can recover from our disappointments and heartaches. In today’s post, I want to share a few tips that I use to recover from heartaches.
The Healing Process Takes Time.
First, realize that healing is a process. It takes time. Allow yourself the time you need to heal. We all heal at different rates and what you do during this time has an effect on your healing rate of recovery.
Sit in it and talk to God about it.
Second, don’t try to hurry your progress and don’t let others rush you. I know it can be tough to sit in the grief and pain, but it can bring relief and healing when you face the reality of your disappointments and heartaches. In Tiffany Bluhm’s online devotion, Flourish, she states that, “We must lean into the dark parts of our stories. Walk through it. Not around it. Not over it.”
Search and meditate on what the word says about your situation.
Remember, if you have a problem, there is an answer for it in the word of God. He hasn’t left us hopeless. Furthermore, you should refuse to let the enemy drag you to the town of bitterness, resentment, and unforgiveness.
Saundra Dalton states in her book
Sacred Rest that God’s word is like a healing elixir. I love that statement – a healing elixir. Spend some time speaking and meditating on the word. As a result, you will begin to feel better.
Start a gratitude journal – focus on your blessings.
Take time to write down at least five things you are thankful for. If you can’t think of five (and I’m sure you can), just go for one and then focus on that one thing. Praise God for the good!
Don’t hide your heartache.
Let others (the right people – those who have genuine care and concern) know what you’re going through. There are people who genuinely want to help you. Find a strong mentor, coach, friend to let you talk through it. Ask for help and seek prayer from friends. Believe me, they’ve been there and if they haven’t yet, they will.
Be kind and patient with yourself.
Disappointments and heartaches are by no means easy, but we can overcome them. Take baby steps. Deep wounds don’t heal overnight. Joy is on the other side even if you can’t see it right now. Look for the joy – the small successes.
Grief. A poignant distress. Deep mental anguish. Acute sorrow. Overwhelming sadness.Grief is our natural response to the loss of some person or something important to us. We grieve over the loss of loved ones, careers, divorces, moving away from friends and family. Grief is inevitable. At some point in our lives, we will experience it whether we like it or not. But just because I began to heal, it didn’t mean I didn’t get slammed up against a wall every time grief made it’s way back to me. Grief comes and goes. I learned that I had to give myself permission to cry, to feel the sadness, to carry the weight of the burden. This was my new life, my new normal. I had to push through the pain, or it would be with me until I did. Cindy Beall, Healing Your Marriage When Trust is Broken
Rest your mind and pamper yourself.
Rest can be a struggle when you’re dealing with heartache, but the more you talk about it, journal about it and face it the better you will become. Choose to focus, fix and park your mind on God’s healing and delivering power.
Invest in someone else.
Also, try to take the focus off yourself for a while. Do a good deed. Pray for someone else that may be facing the same situation. There are plenty of people out there who just need a smile or a kind word.
Change your words – Change your perspective.
It may be hard but focus on changing your perspective. Focus on the good. Fight for the good. The enemy wants you to bask in your heartache, but God wants to break the chains of depressions set you free from your heartache.
Run to and Worship the Saviour
Believe That All Things Are Possible!
Finally, focus on the Saviour. Somehow when we worship the Saviour, it changes us physically and emotionally. God is the mender of broken hearts. He knows all the right places that need healing. He can renew your joy, soothe your heart and soul, and put a smile on your face again. I’m praying that you allow the word of God to soothe your soul. Allow God to apply his powerful healing balm to your wounded heart!
God is capable of carrying you through any situation – even the really hard stuff. He is your peace, your way out, your joy, and your strength! He is your healer! Matthew 19:26 says that “with men it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” God can heal your broken heart!
We rejoice in who he is and what he has done. We don’t deny the hardships but hold true to the joy of the Lord. Our strength and salvation. – Tiffany Bluhm, Flourish
Joy is the difference-maker in the life of a believing woman. It’s evidence that God is at work within her. Joy doesn’t ignore the tragedy or trials of life. It doesn’t fake a smile. It’s not a fleeting feeling but an acknowledgment of love and hope. It’s the surest thing within us: God is our Helper, our Deliverer. When you hold both tragedy and joy in one hand, it invites restoration. – Tiffany Bluhm, Flourish
How to Recover with Music
I Need Thee Every Hour by Selah
You Deliver Me by Selah
Made a Way by Travis Greene
You are My Healer by Anthony Evans
How to Recover with Scripture
A new day will dawn on us from above because our God is loving and merciful. He will give light to those who live in the dark and in death’s shadow. He will guide us into the way of peace.” Luke 1:78-79
Psalm 73:26
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Isaiah 40:8
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.
Jonah 2:6
To the roots of the mountains, I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God.
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; and the lifter up of mine head.
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.
He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
Additional Recovery Resources
