Book excerpt: What Can You Do When Life Doesn't Turn Out Like You Planned? How do you respond when your husband or wife tramples your emotions? When your boss fires you unexpectedly? When you lose your life's savings? When the child you've loved and prayed for turns his back on you and your values? When disappointments like these smash their way into your life, you may want to scream, "How could God let this happen?" But what if God didn't just "let it happen"? What if the things you call disappointments are really His appointments--events He is using to make you more like Christ? What if your circumstances are actually the flames of His grace, intended to melt and burn away the undesirable elements in your life, leaving you pure and radiant--like refined silver? You can be defeated by life's unavoidable disappointments, or you can become stronger because of them. Life's disappointments can send you on a dangerous downward spiral into discouragement, depression, or even despair. But in this eye-opening book, Kay Arthur guides you to biblical truths that will help you break that cycle and instead embrace disappointment as the cleansing fire God uses to make you--as silver refined--a reflection of His goodness. Now includes a 16 week Bible study!