My Pastor always says that “disappointments are often God’s appointments.” He says that when something happens or something isn’t going our way, we should ask ourselves, “What does this make possible?”

I was thinking about this on my way to work this morning, a time that I generally hate. I drive an hour to work and an hour home, and it’s easily my least favorite part of the day. I don’t mind getting up early, in fact, some of my favorite days off are spent waking up early, sipping coffee, and taking my time getting ready for the day. I do, however, hate my drive to and from work and find myself in a bad mood because of it quite frequently. Of course, the thankfulness I have for my job far outweighs the annoying drive, but still, this morning I realized how much I let the aggravation of it affect my attitude.

What does my hour long commute make possible? Instead of complaining in my mind or feeling frustrated, what if I spent that time singing praises to the Father, talking with Him, and counting my blessings? What if I changed my attitude so that the disappointment of my long drive changed to an appointment with my Savior? One of the wonderful things about Jesus is that He will meet us wherever we are, whether it be in the car driving down the road, on our knees in the quiet of our homes, or surrounded by other people in church on Sunday morning.

If you’re like me, and you daily face a situation that forces you to choose either joy or frustration, I challenge you to ask yourself what that situation makes possible. Is there an opportunity for you to grow closer to the Lord in the midst of it? I would venture to say that there is, we just have to open our eyes and just like the sweet old hymn (“Come Thou Fount”) says, “tune our hearts to sing His grace.”