Psalm 22:5; Romans 5:5
God uses disappointment to lead us to His appointment. Disappointments affect all of our daily lives. As Christians, we need to learn to handle the disappointment we face. How we handle these disappointments will have an important effect on our relationship with the Lord and our brothers and sisters.
Disappointment can be specifically defined as not having happen what you want to happen. In fact, we experience disappointment because we feel that we have not had the appointment that we should have had.
We either lost our appointment with God or it seemed He did not want to help us. The truth of the matter is that Jesus had to walk through disappointment to get His appointment with the Father.
It’s not that the Father disappointed Him, it’s that Jesus had trouble with His supporting cast and other people around Him. It’s important to note here that the Father does not wish to disappoint us, but that we experience disappointment because of the world, our flesh and the devil. It’s because of our nature that we want things now, and this is always fertile ground for disappointment.
Our appointment is always to share in the Father’s will as Jesus did when He walked the earth. Our appointment with the Father and His Son in the power of the Holy Spirit brings us peace, joy and strength no matter what the circumstances. Paul speaks in II Timothy 3:1-8 of running the race, but if we don’t run it towards Jesus, we are running in the wrong direction.
Satan, the accuser, uses circumstances to try to produce disappointment in our minds. Again, when we have disappointment, we can miss our appointment with God. Satan says Jesus failed you, but Jesus wants to use your disappointment to lead you to an even greater appointment with God.
An important indicator of our ability to meet our appointments with God is understanding who is in control of our lives. It’s easy to trust God when He does things our way, but it is much more difficult to trust Him when we don’t know what He is doing. The two major components of meeting our appointment with God are recognizing God’s sovereignty and having the flexibility to accept His sovereignty.
Accepting God’s sovereignty is saying ‘I want what You want for me and then having the flexibility to work it out in our own lives. Disappointment comes when we value the gift more than the giver. Jesus is trying to give us Himself, but we often value more what He will give us rather than who He is for us. God’s appointments are designed to reveal and build His nature and character in us. They are preparation and invitation to experience greater love and intimacy with Him in our lives.
Often disappointments come when we fail to recognize how God values the relationship between us and Him. We often get sidetracked in seeking immediate comfort and relief instead of building this intimate relationship.
There are other things that attack this intimate relationship and create disappointment. The first example is telling God what we want Him to do rather than meditating on the goodness of God and letting do what He wants to do.
The second example is having a bitter attitude or a judgmental attitude toward the Lord. The rationale here is to say that if He really loves me, He will let me have my way.
A third example is to compare ourselves with others on the terms of accomplishments or gifts. God’s plan for us is to cooperate and not compete. He has a specific job for each of us to accomplish that no one else can do in the same way.
A fourth example is to expect quick results from God. The Lord often has a different timetable than us but it is always better.
Disappointment sours the sweet waters of God’s presence. We will all have some disappointment in our lives, but we can use it to become bitter or better people. Here are some positive ways of handling disappointment:
– Build a treasure chest of memories of when God has blessed you and use them often.
– Speak often about God’s faithfulness to yourself and to others.
– Spend your time being a blessing to others and God will bless you.
– Thank God for what He does give. Practice being grateful for even the small things in life.
-Know the Word of God and how God promises to provide. Speak out the truths in the scriptures and they will become buried deep in your heart.
The best is coming. Nothing can compare with what you will have in heaven with Jesus.
The Eagles Cry 