Disappointment is Redeemable
This week we're talking about dealing with disappointment in life.
I said last week, when we spoke about dealing with difficult people, that you have to be willing to deal with people and to work through your struggles with them, for God to help you. If you're not willing to deal with it, you'll just never find a way forward.
It's the same with disappointment. Some people like to feel disappointed, because then they can get other people feeling sorry for them. They never deal with it, they just wallow in self-pity, and their disappointment never gets redeemed for good!
I've been there. Thankfully, I have Shereen who helps me to snap out of it when I've wallowed too long.
I need to discipline myself to remember that while disappointment is inevitable, people of faith have a wonderful reality: that God will use our disappointments for good.
God Works All Things for Good
Many of us know Paul's great words in Romans 8: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)
This is the wonderful hope of the Christian - that God can and does use all things - disappointments even - for good.
Disappointing as life may be at times, our God is the Redeemer. He not only redeems our lives from the effects of sin, but He redeems our joy from the depths of disappointment.
In fact the Psalmist wrote, "Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." (Psalm 30:5)
Of course, the truth is, you can only learn this the hard way! You can only learn this through experience. People who have faith in Jesus Christ learn, by experience, that disappointment comes often in life, but if we keep walking on in faith and trust, we will see God do good from our disappointments.
Joseph: A Life Redeemed from Disappointment
Have you lost hope because of your disappointments? Consider Joseph today. He had his whole life in front of him, but his brothers sold him into slavery and he went from one disappointment to the next. But he had a positive attitude, and whatever situation he found himself in, he found a way to use it for God's glory.
At the end of the story, Joseph says this to his brothers: "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." (Genesis 50:20)
Disappointment may come, but God will use it for good, to accomplish great things… if you turn your disappointment over to Him, and seek Him and His glory even in your disappointing moments.
Psalm 91 reveals God as a Person we can actively trust, who sustains our faith through suffering rather than shielding us from it. Bring your struggles to God today and lean on Him as your refuge and fortress.