Our life is full of experiences, some of them don't fulfill our expectations.
Unmet expectations can lead us to be disappointed or feeling discouraged.
David had experienced lots of disappointments in his life.
In 1 Samuel 30:1-6, we read when David and his men reached Ziklag ,they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons were taken as captives by Amalekites. David and his men wept until they had no strength left to weep. David was also greatly distressed because the men with him was about to stone him.Towards the end of verse 6, we read that David found strength in the Lord. Some versions say David encouraged himself in the Lord.
We too can strengthen ourselves in God in midst for our disappointments.
We can do it by
1 Speaking to our discouraged soul
In psalms we can see David speaking to himself ." Bless the Lord of my soul, Praise the Lord and forget not all his benefits."Psalms 103:1-2," Why my soul are you downcast, put your hope in God . Psalms 43:5, here David is reminding himself who God is and God will take care of him. Remind yourself that God will take care of you. You are encouraging your soul to put hope back in God.
2 Waiting upon the Lord
In Isaiah 40:13 , we read " But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength".
Waiting expectantly , not in a passive manner. It is just like a pregnant women who is about to have her baby at the due time.Though she cant see the baby , she knows it is inside. She actively prepares herself everything she needs before baby arrives, because she knows her promise will be fulfilled. Waiting on the Lord in prayer, in worship and by giving thanks is way of renewing your strength.
3 Pray in the Holy spirit
Ephesians 6:18 says us to Pray in the spirit on all occasions.
Sometimes we can pray with no faith, we are praying but our heart is not with it.
An article from desiring God about" How to pray in the Holy spirit" explains " Praying in the spirit means it is the opposite of praying in the flesh. Prayer in the power of flesh relies upon human ability and effort to carry the prayer forward."
Holy spirit helps us to pray by giving us the right words to say, it could be groaning which
Don't get struck on disappointments. Get back up and keep going with God's help.