Pat, that's good.

earlier, Pat Ferguson, wrote:
>How to Stay Strong in Disappointment
>
>Cindi McMenamin
>
>Wouldn't it be nice if life consisted only of 
>pleasant surprises, not the disappointing ones?
>
>And yet when we meet disappointment head-on, it 
>is a true test of the strength of our faith.
>
>I recently received news that was gravely 
>disappointing. I wasn't prepared for it in the 
>least. It was shocking, really. God had been on 
>a roll with blessings in my life. I guess I'd 
>gotten a little comfortable. And this 
>disappointing news couldn't have come at a worse 
>time...a week before Christmas, just days after 
>celebrating my daughter's college graduation, 
>and just a week prior to my husband's transition 
>into a new season of life that carried with it a lot of financial uncertainty.
>
>My family was daily looking for the little 
>assurances that God had our back and we were 
>constantly praising him for all the times he 
>came through. And now, it looked like the door 
>to my golden opportunity and financial stability 
>had slammed shut. My first reaction, spoken 
>nearly aloud, was "God, this is so out of character for You."
>
>And then I suddenly realized something: God 
>doesn't do anything out of character.
>
>• If God's response to my request appeared out 
>of character for him, then it was is my 
>understanding of the situation that was in question, not his character.
>• If God's timing appears to be wrong, then it 
>is my perception of his timing that I will 
>doubt, not his ability to coordinate all things.
>• If God's love appears to be in question - 
>because of how he has responded to my situation 
>- then it is my trust that is in question, not God's love.
>
>It was then that I understood. It wasn't God's 
>character that was being put to the test in my 
>disappointing circumstances. It was mine. Would 
>my faith stand an unexpected turn? Would I take 
>only blessings from God and not the 
>disappointments, too? Or will I trust him, 
>wholeheartedly, that he knows exactly what he's 
>doing and perhaps this closed door means an even 
>better one will soon be opening?
>
>It's been said that when God closes one door, he 
>opens another. But when we can't immediately see 
>that other door, we tend to panic. At least I do.
>
>It has helped me to remember three things about disappointment:
>
>1. Disappointment is a very real part of life.
>2. Disappointment is something God can use to 
>grow me into someone who is more like his Son.
>3. Disappointment is the measuring stick for how strong my faith is.
>
>I realized, through my reaction to this 
>disappointment, that this comfortable woman - 
>who was secure in her ability, her work, and her 
>finances - was suddenly desperate for God. 
>Desperate for him. And that's exactly where he wants me to be.
>
>And, it occurred to me that I had actually prayed for this disappointment.
>
>Just prior to receiving my disappointing news, I 
>had been praying for change - in my personal 
>life, my marriage, my professional life, and my 
>spiritual life. And yet, more of the same never 
>means change. In fact, growth always means 
>change. God was giving me what I asked for - 
>change! It just came in a package I called 
>"disappointment" and in a way that I didn't expect.
>
>I want my response to God in the disappointments 
>of life to be just as pleasing to Him as my 
>praise during the blessings of life. Can God 
>trust me to be faithful to him regardless of my 
>circumstances, regardless of when he chooses to 
>bless and when he chooses to withhold?
>
>Job once said "Though he slay me, yet will I trust him" (
>Job 13:15,
>NKJV). I haven't been "slayed" - not in the 
>least. I've just been disappointed. So I long 
>for the song of my heart to be, "Though I don't 
>understand why he allowed this, still I will trust him."
>
>Have you been gravely disappointed in your 
>circumstances, too? Are you wondering why God 
>has allowed - or not allowed - something in your 
>life? It's possible he wants you to be desperate 
>for him, too. When we can say our hope is in 
>him, not in what he will do, then we get a 
>little clearer picture of what it means to follow him faithfully.
>
>Trust him through this time of disappointment or 
>uncertainty. Wait for the door that he may soon 
>be opening now that this one has been shut. And 
>quiet your heart, along with me, so that we can say, as the Psalmist did:
>
>"I have calmed myself and quieted my ambitions.
>I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content"
>(Psalm 131:2).
>
>Disappointment or not, I want my faith to be 
>strong and my heart to be pleasing to him. Don't you?
>
>
>Thanks much.
>
>Many Blessings,
>
>Pat Ferguson
>"I can Do all Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me." Phillippians 4:13.