Work Through Disappointment

TRANSCRIPT: Good morning, Five Minute Families. It’s a new month and yet another chance to begin making changes that will impact your family for generations to come. Every day choices become lifetime legacies, and so we encourage you to continue to cultivate grit in yourself and your family for the sake of God’s work in you and through you. Let’s continue to breakdown the concept of grit. As we mentioned last week, grit can also be called resilience. The APA Dictionary of Psychology definition of grit is that it is “a personality trait characterized by perseverance and passion for achieving long-term goals. Grit entails working strenuously to overcome challenges and maintaining effort and interest over time despite failures, adversities, and plateaus in progress.” Joseph - Jacob’s eleventh son - was resilient. He showed true grit despite his circumstances. Joseph had been given visions from God and he trusted in God’s plans - even when his older brothers sold him into slavery, even when Potiphar’s wife lied about him, even when he was forgotten for years in prison… he held fast to the truth about God, not the world of circumstances at the moment. Because of his trust in God, he exhibited the characteristics needed to face the disappointments that were thrown at him. So, how does a five-minute family work through disappointments in order to glorify the Lord? 1.    First, you have to fully acknowledge your hurts and disappointments. We cannot work through them if we do not want to admit they exist. There are numerous verses which demonstrate the hurt and pain the biblical heroes of old faced; one such beginning is found in Psalm 42:3, “My tears have been my food day and night.” Allow your child to recognize those disappointments and speak about them. Allow yourself to do the same. 2.    Second, remember that being disappointed isn’t being unfaithful to your belief in God’s greater purpose and plan. Psalm 34:18 tells us, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves