Back in 1967, a pop music duo named Sonny & Cher sang a song titled, “The Beat Goes On,” that entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart on January 14, 1967, peaking at number six (source here). I was a freshman in high school (actually, 9th grade in junior high school) back then. The idiom, “the beat goes on,” essentially means that “some process, pursuit, activity, etc., will continue into the future, especially in the face of difficulties or setbacks” (source here). The lyrics to that song are available at this link.
Fast forward to today, several decades later, and the beat is still going on and on and on. What reminded me of this song from so many years ago was a class I attended earlier this past week. In that class we are studying a book titled, “It’s Not Supposed To Be This Way” (2018), by Lysa TerKeurst, President and Chief Visionary Officer of Proverbs 31 Ministries, and author of numerous bestselling books. Those enrolled in the class are singles (divorced, widowed, or never married) who are 55+ in age, and the topic of the class is on “finding unexpected strength when disappointments leave you shattered” (that is the subtitle of the book written at the bottom of the front cover).
On page 2 in Chapter 1, Lysa states, “Sometimes to get your life back, you have to face the death of what you thought your life would look like.” If you happen to be really young, you might not yet know whether what you are hoping for will come to pass in the future, but for the rest of us on the other side of life with far more years already behind us and not nearly as many left going forward, it can be a bit daunting. Life happens, and most of the time we have little control over it. And you don’t have to be all that old to start realizing that fact.
This reminds me of something I read in James 4. James doesn’t mince words in this chapter, and he starts off addressing an all-too-human side of us regarding not getting what we want so we quarrel and fight with each other (see James 4:1-12). Then he states the following in verses 13-17:
Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
Those verses go along with this verse in Proverbs 16:9 (NLT) that states:
We can make our plans,
but the Lord determines our steps.
And those verses above are also a reminder that we really don’t know what the future holds or even what tomorrow holds.
In an article published on February 10, 2019, titled, “The Christian Response to Disappointment,” by Jack Zavada, author of a dozen books, and creator of Inspiration-for-Singles.com, he offers guidance that I have also found to be true especially over the past couple of decades. He opens his article with a few paragraphs regarding being a Christian and dealing with disappointments, and then he provides the following information which is what I have learned, over time, that I need to ask God when disappointments spring up. Here is what he wrote:
Asking the Right Question
After many years of hurts and frustration, I finally realized that the question I should ask God isn’t “Why, Lord?” but rather, “What now, Lord?”
Asking “What now, Lord?” instead of “Why, Lord?” is a hard lesson to learn. It’s hard to ask the right question when you’re feeling disappointed. It’s hard to ask when your heart is breaking. It’s hard to ask “What now?” when your dreams have been shattered.
But your life will begin to change when you start asking God, “What would you have me do now, Lord?” Oh sure, you’ll still feel angry or disheartened by disappointments, but you’ll also discover that God is eager to show you what he wants you to do next. Not only that, but he’ll equip you with everything you need to do it.
Where to Take Your Heartaches
In the face of trouble, our natural tendency is not to ask the right question. Our natural tendency is to complain. Unfortunately, griping to other people rarely helps solve our problems. Instead, it tends to drive people away. Nobody wants to hang around a person who has a self-pitying, pessimistic outlook on life.
But we can’t just let it go. We need to pour our heart out to someone. Disappointment is too heavy a burden to bear. If we let disappointments pile up, they lead to discouragement. Too much discouragement leads to despair. God doesn’t want that for us. In his grace, God asks us to take our heartaches to him.
If another Christian tells you that it’s wrong to gripe to God, just send that person to the Psalms. Many of them, like Psalms 31, 102 and 109, are poetic accounts of hurts and grievances. God listens. He’d rather have us empty our heart to him than keep that bitterness inside. He is not offended by our discontent.
Complaining to God is wise because he’s capable of doing something about it, while our friends and relations may not be. God has the power to change us, our situation, or both. He knows all the facts and he knows the future. He knows exactly what needs to be done.
The Answer to ‘What Now?’
When we pour out our hurt to God and find the courage to ask him, “What do you want me to do now Lord?” we can expect him to answer. He will communicate through another person, our circumstances, instructions from him (very rarely), or through his Word, the Bible.
The Bible is such an important guidebook that we should immerse ourselves in it regularly. It’s called the Living Word of God because its truths are constant yet they apply to our changing situations. You can read the same passage at different times in your life and get a different answer–a relevant answer–from it every time. That is God speaking through his Word.
Seeking God’s answer to “What now?” helps us grow in faith. Through experience, we learn that God is trustworthy. He can take our disappointments and work them for our good. When that happens, we come to the staggering conclusion that the all-powerful God of the universe is on our side.
No matter how painful your disappointment may be, God’s answer to your question of “What now, Lord?” always begins with this simple command: “Trust me. Trust me.” (Quote source here.)
I’ll end this post with two of my lifelong verses that have sustained me through my disappointments–Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)–Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways…
Acknowledge Him . . .
And He shall direct . . .
Your paths . . . .
YouTube Video: “Strong” by Anne Wilson:
Sara's Reflections 