When Disappointment Visits
Let’s talk about our friend… disappointment.
Disappointment has been a dear friend of mine for a very long time.
Disappointment has brought me great strength as it gifted me with the ability to be proactive: Teaching me to plan ahead and consider the worst case scenario.
But at the same time disappointment has tormented me. Robbing me of joy. Instead of living with great hope, I instead lived with baited breath. Always waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Disappointment trained me to believe that it probably is too good to be true.
Disappointment has been my greatest friend and also my greatest enemy.
Here’s the dilemma: Disappointment is inevitable.
When our expectations are missed, we will always experience this sense of loss, dread and frustration.
This experience of disappointment is unavoidable, but what I am learning is that our response is controllable.
You see, when we live avoiding the feeling of disappointment, we also avoid great joy.
Joy requires that we have high hopes and expectations. Joy requires that we stay present in the moment and allow our hearts to fill with gratitude for the moment we are in today.
But when we are afraid of being disappointed, we unintentionally begin to subdue our joy. We see great experiences fleeting moments because we are focused on what pain might be waiting for us tomorrow.
The other thing that disappointment does? It displaces our faith.
When we experience disappointment, the enemy uses this as a strategy to prove his lies are true:
God doesn’t care.
You don’t deserve good things.
God has abandoned you.
Don’t get your hopes up, it’s not worth it.
Don’t take another risk, it will never work out.
He uses these lies to keep us stuck, scared, stifled and complacent.
And yet, God implores us to live our lives with great faith.
Faith tells us the opposite:
Disappointment says it didn’t work out.
Faith says God will work it out in a different way.
Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose.
Disappointment brings agitation
Faith brings anticipation
Hebrews 11:1 "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”
Disappointment is crushing.
Faith breathes fresh life.
John 16:33 “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Disappointment says God has abandoned me.
Faith says God is with me… even here
Isaiah 43:2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”
Disappointment puts a period.
Faith puts an ellipses…
Isaiah 40:31 "But those who wait for the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."
So let’s replace the lies of the enemy with God’s truth:
Just because God didn’t do it our way or on our timeline, doesn’t mean he’s not working.