Peace amid disappointment

How could this be? I couldn’t believe what my husband was telling me. He hadn’t gotten the expected promotion at his job. It was a given that he would. Everyone expected it. After all, he was the senior man, the most experienced, and the most qualified. Yet the promotion had gone to another. How unfair!

However, after a momentary pause of incredulity, I found myself calming my thought and turning to God. My husband and I quickly agreed that this simply meant something better would come along. We started to feel a deep and meaningful peace.

According to Christian Science, two names for God are Truth and Love, which means God is just and merciful. For us this meant that even when faced with what seems like an unjust outcome and the anger and disappointment that ensue, we have recourse to a higher authority.

This doesn’t mean praying from a selfish standpoint and just asking for help with something we think has been lost or taken from us. It simply means letting go of our own human sense of things and trusting God’s goodness. In “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” the discoverer of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, writes: “Love is impartial and universal in its adaptation and bestowals. It is the open fount which cries, ‘Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters’” (p. 13).

Disappointment can’t last long when we make it a consistent practice to look to the higher power of God that governs our life. The Bible speaks of God in this way: “Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face” (Psalms 89:14). In God’s kingdom there can be no letdowns – there’s only God’s law of equity and benevolence operating on our behalf. Perceiving this truth frees us of any disappointment or discouragement.

The confidence and freedom my husband and I were feeling in God’s leading also stifled any sense of animosity or retaliation we might have been tempted to feel. To my husband’s credit, he continued to do his job to the very best of his ability, even helping his new boss navigate through the process of taking on new responsibilities. There was no rift in their relationship, either, and they remain friends to this day.

Soon the bigger picture became clear to us – my husband realized he could take an early retirement, and this felt like a right next step. We had no idea what he would do for work, since he was at an age when companies might consider him “over the hill,” and this was a factor we had to consider. But continuing to feel guided by God, he did retire.

Seventeen days from the day he retired, he was offered a position within a company that for many years he had dreamed of working for. We never could have foreseen this coming about, and he spent another 13 happy years doing what he truly loved, made new friends, and earned another retirement.

Mrs. Eddy wrote, “Justice waits, and is used to waiting; and right wins the everlasting victory” (“Miscellaneous Writings 1883-1896,” p. 277). When events and plans don’t work out in the way we had anticipated, it’s not impossible to be unafraid and undisturbed. The key is to continue trusting God to unfold goodness and progress. If we wait unafraid, the way forward will always come to light – and we will thrive!

Some more great ideas! To read or listen to an article in the weekly Christian Science Sentinel on hearing God's voice in a way we can understand titled “God’s unique messages,” please click through to www.JSH-Online.com. There is no paywall for this content.