Life often looks different from what we had hoped or expected. Some events may catch us off guard for a moment, but others shatter us completely. We feel disappointed and disillusioned, and we quietly start to wonder about the reality of God’s goodness.
Lysa TerKeurst understands this deeply. But she’s also discovered that our disappointments can be the divine appointments our souls need to radically encounter God. In her book, It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way, Lysa invites us into her own journey of faith. With grit, vulnerability, and honest humor she helps us to see our lives in the context of God’s bigger story. Whether we’re dealing with daily disappointments or life-altering loss, we can find unexpected strength in learning to wrestle between our faith and our feelings.
Disappointments are an inevitable part of life. Yet, despite the way they sometimes throw our worlds completely off-kilter, they don’t have to signify the end. In fact they are often what must be for something new to begin. Lysa TerKeurst offers a safe guide, fresh biblical insight, and reorienting perspectives for this life between Eden and eternity. With refreshing honesty and deep encouragement Lysa helps us to:
- Stop being pulled into the anxiety of disappointment by discovering how to better process unmet expectations and other painful situations.
- Train ourselves to recognize the three strategies of the enemy so we can stand strong and persevere through unsettling relationships and uncertain outcomes.
- Discover the secret of being steadfast and not panicking when God actually does give us more than we can handle.
- Shift our suspicion that God is cruel or unfair to the biblical assurance that God is protecting and preparing us.
- Know how to encourage a friend and help her navigate hard realities with real help from God’s truth.
In “9 Scriptures for Surviving the Times When God Seems Silent,” Lysa writes:
“Are you desperately longing to see evidence of God moving in the midst of a heart-wrenching situation? Maybe it’s the unanswered prayer you’ve cried countless tears over. Or the relationship you’re desperate for Him to mend. Or the pain you keep asking Him to please bring to an end. I know how hard that can be.
“I also know the enemy would love for you to think God is ignoring you. The truth is that God absolutely longs to help us in our hurt. But to help us He must transform us. And all of this is because He loves us. That’s why I want to highlight these three statements that are my starting place when I wrestle with unmet expectations, pain, and disappointments big and small:
- God longs to help me
- God longs to transform me.
- God loves me.”
“And to you who hold this book right now—the hurting heart, the disappointed soul, the devastated dreamer—I know your pain. I really do. But I also know that God sees, God hears. And God loves you deeply. My prayer is that the heaviness will be lifted off of your soul as you embrace the truths through the pages of this book.”
When we empty ourselves of our misplaced hopes and limited perspectives, we have to fill ourselves up with something. So we learn to identify our empty spaces and thirst, and fill that void with the living water of God’s truth. His Word is tailor-made to transform the hurting human heart.