Psalm 25 has been a great strength to me for years. The first 5 verses speak to me about the wisdom of expecting only from the LORD:
1 Unto You, O Lord, do I bring my life. 2 O my God, I trust, lean on, rely on, and am confident in You. Let me not be put to shame or [my hope in You] be disappointed; let not my enemies triumph over me. 3 Yes, let none who trust and wait hopefully and look for You be put to shame or be disappointed; let them be ashamed who forsake the right or deal treacherously without cause. 4 Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. 5 Guide me in Your truth and faithfulness and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You [do I wait all the day long.
Part of the problem with expectations is that we often have forgotten we are supposed to expect only from the LORD, instead of other people.
Yes, He almost always does use other people (whether they are aware of it or not) to be the channels through whom things happen for us and with us that are part of His Plan. But we must remember (and I'm preaching to myself) that our hope and expectation are to come only from Him.
My soul, wait only upon God and silently submit to Him; for my hope and expectation are from Him. Psalm 62:5
There is a teaching to "expect nothing," that someone close to me subscribes to--supposedly to prevent any expectation at all of ever being disappointed, I guess. I am not judging; for everyone processes things a bit different, because we have different backgrounds, experiences, personalities, and relationships with the LORD.
Personally, I can't do that. For me, it would turn into scorn, which could lead to bitterness--and the LORD's been working with me for years to uncover such junk in me and deliver me from it.
No matter how numb, or angry, or whatever you're feeling is to ask the LORD to help you overcome.
If your heart is broken, you’ll find GOD right there; if you're kicked in the gut, he’ll help you catch your breath. Psalm 34:18
Thank the LORD, Jesus is alive, and Jesus is Love (I John 4:18; John 3:15-17)!
Christ Jesus most of all, totally understands disappointment--from His family not understanding Him as He grew up; to His disciples not understanding Him often, and even Peter denying Him three times: to all of us humans being His enemies because of Adam's sin, and putting Him on the cross to die for all of our sins--when He had done nothing wrong!
Very recently, I went through a huge disappointment, which was the tipping point for very similar disappointments in the past. It was hard. I felt numb. I was angry, and bitterness and scorn and other junk rose up in my soul. I felt like I was far away from God.
It was all I could do to pray and say, "Praise the LORD," and read the Word. I had to ask the LORD to help me do these things. At first, during this 2 to3 day period, I was saying, "Help me, LORD!" often.
He did. And the significant word in the first sentence of the previous paragraph was, "through". I went through! He helped me; He strengthened me; He carried me.
Ask Him to help you find things to be thankful about. Ask His Spirit of Truth to bring to your remembrance the good things He's done.
Ask Him to give you wisdom. For me, part of that wisdom was just to sit in the sunlight for several minutes, and not say anything. Not read anything.
Of course, that IS our victory--reading and speaking the Word and praising the LORD in song and other positive things.