Heartbreak, Disappointment and Broken Dreams

I'm working on some intriging thoughts with marriage - not quite ready to post - Stay tuned to next week. In the meantime, I'd love to address a heartbreaking note I received last week from a woman who is dealing with infertility. As I began praying for her, I started to think about all the women who may be experiencing disappointment, heartbreak or a shattered dream. I'll break this into 2 segments. Today is Part 1.

John 10:3-4

"He calls His own sheep by name... His sheep follow Him because they know His voice."

I'll never forget the first time I realized that the God of the Universe was speaking to me. It was following an OB/GYN visit, after having discovered that I miscarried our first baby. My husband and I were devastated. The following morning in my quiet time, I flipped to the Psalms, as was my normal custom. That particular day - I was on Psalm 113. Listen to the precious words found in verse 9:

"He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children."

Could this be the God of the Universe speaking to me? Could this verse really be saying what I was hoping it was saying? Or was this just some cruel coincidence? I decided to believe that this was Jesus. And it was. Jesus was speaking through the words of the Bible into the depths of my wounded heart.

Through this one sentence, God gave me a promise that I would never forget and hold close to my heart for years to come. The promise He gave me through those 14 words were:

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  That I would become pregnant again-


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  That I would have more than one child-


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  That I would be a stay-at-home mother-


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  That I would be happy and content in this challenging role-

Four years later - He fulfilled this promise.

If you are in a place of utter despair - go the Lord and ask Him to give you a promise. Ask Him to reveal His will to you. The Bible says in Jeremiah 29:13: "You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,"declares the Lord, "and will bring you back from captivity."

What captivity are you currently in? Is it a broken relationship; a broken dream; a huge disappointment? The precious woman who sent the note is in the captivity of infertility. However, we all at one time or another, find ourselves in a captivity of some kind or another. I pray that by sharing my story - that I by no means tease her or lead her to think that I know the will of God for her life. I do not know if it is God's will for her to have a child. But these 3 things I KNOW - and I hope it encourages her and you as well:

#1. God speaks and He will speak clearly and personally to us through the Words of the Bible.

#2. Despite the depth of pain our circumstances can bring, God is crazy in love with her (and you) and has a plan for her life. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." (v29)

#3. God is willing to reveal is will to her - to you - and to me. But we must first go to Him. We must seek Him with all our heart.

Then... we will know His plan and purposes in the midst of our brokenness.

Tomorrow: What keeps us from hearing from God?