Disappointment

dis·ap·point·ment

/ˌdisəˈpointmənt/

sadness or displeasure caused by the nonfulfillment of one's hopes or expectations.

Disappointment is an emotion we’ve all experienced at least once in our life that is solely based on our hopes or expectations; what we expect to happen from any given situation. Far too often do we expect or desire for the world and/or the actions of others to go a certain way and when things don’t go according to plan disappointment is typically the emotion that follows. We’ve all been there, we’ve all experienced disappointment and been let down, it’s a part of our sin nature, weather you were on the receiving end of it or the one, unfortunately, doing the disappointing it’s bound to happen. So how do you keep yourself from getting disappointment? Is it even avoidable?

I recently watched a fairly popular new release and no spoilers I promise but in the film Spider Man: No Way Home MJ made an interesting quote that I couldn’t help but ponder over. She said, on multiple occasions “If you expect disappointment, then you can never really be disappointed." In some way she makes a compelling argument; if we let go control of a situation or not set such high expectations then the probability of us being disappointed drops dramatically but then does this mean we should never expect anything or having anything to look forward to? What is life if we aren’t living towards something or expecting something?

Last week I decided to start the new year off with a solo retreat on the coast and for this retreat I set some expectations, I made plans and looked forward to the journey ahead and to my surprise nothing, well nothing that I had planned for myself, went according to plan. Everything that God had planned on the other hand went exactly according to plan. I tried to control my weekend and as we all will find out at some point or another when we try and control our own future God tends to stir things up because He would rather us let go and follow Him than make poor decisions that would bring us further disappointment. God desires to control our life not because He thinks we’d do a terrible job on our own but because He cares about us and ultimately knows what’s best for us, He knows what you and I need more than we’ll ever know we just need to have faith in His guidance. God was able to use me and work through me in this adventure which may not have gone how I had planned but went exactly according to His plan. When we let go of the control we have on our life and give God a chance to work within us, we’ll never be disappointed because our God can do no wrong and whatever His plans are I can guarantee you that they’re perfect.

So what does the Bible tell us about disappointment? Surprisingly, when looking through various translations of the Bible the word “disappoint” only came up a handful of times but in those limited times and through various translations one pattern is quite indisputable that those who hope on the Lord will not be disappointed.

Isaiah 49:23 (NIV) says this “Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who HOPE in me will not be disappointed.”

Romans 5:3-5 (NKJV) says this “And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now HOPE does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Hope

/hōp/

a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.

When we place our Hope in Christ and in His promises and then expect or desire certain things to come or happen because of our Hope in Him we will never be disappointed.

The hard truth in this realization is that being a Christian or a follower of Christ does in no way mean that your life will be easy, it also doesn’t mean that your life will be perfect, and unfortunately it doesn’t mean that in your walk with God you won’t ever experience pain or suffering because the truth is we live in a sinful and very lost world and while we are still here on this earth we will continue to experience pain, there will still be suffering and tribulation but hope is not lost because while pain and tribulation do exist we serve a God who is bigger than all of our problems and He offers hope. Even if we suffer here there will come a day when we are with Him in glory and on that day and for eternity we will never be disappointed; no more suffering, no more pain, no evil, no hardship. God promises that when we place our hope in Him He will never leave us and He will never let us down.

Deuteronomy 31:8 says this “And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”

Rather than expecting disappointment give yourself a chance to let go and let God work in your life, it’s okay to make plans and expect things to happen but if we have too much control of our own life we aren’t giving God a chance to do what He does best. When you let go and give your life to Him you’ll begin to truly see that life isn’t all that disappointing because God is a part of it and in that you can have hope; a hope not just for a better tomorrow but a hope for all eternity!

📍Cape Disappointment