Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NIV
What do you do when you are disappointed? Especially when you are disappointed with God.
The first thing is to talk to Him in prayer, the very thing you may not feel like doing. After all, you are disappointed because He didn’t answer your prior fervent prayer. But the purpose of prayer was never primarily to get the answer we want. It’s to build our intimate trust relationship with Him. He invites us to tell Him the whole truth about how we feel. He will never turn us away. He is the God of all comfort, and He will understand you.
Open your heart to the way God thinks and works. Here’s the thing – whenever I feel like God has made a mistake, it’s a sure thing I am not on track with Him. Everything about Him is higher, wiser, better than I can imagine (Isaiah 55:9), and even when I can’t see what He is doing I can know He is working everything out for my best (Romans 8:28).
Wisely share with a few trusted Jesus followers. Stay off social media. You don’t help yourself or anyone else in that way. But this journey is to be taken in community. Your disappointment will lead you to tremendous comfort, understanding, and then growth in following Jesus as friends walk with you, help you go on when you are weak, and continually point you to truth. If you surround yourself with great companions on the journey, it’s very unlikely you’ll ever give up. You will find you can persevere through the hardest times and the deepest disappointments.
Turn your focus from your circumstances to Jesus. Remember His faithfulness. Of course, the Bible is cover to cover a story of God’s faithfulness. Those accounts can encourage you. But if you have followed Jesus long at all, you have your own stories. All through my walk it has helped me keep pressing on by tangibly remembering. I collect stones each year and keep them in a jar. They are river stones on which I write the date and a few words to remind me of how God was just then faithful to me. All I have to do is allow my eyes to wander around the room and I am flooded with faith and thanksgiving. Pick your way – a journal, post-a notes, a list on your phone, whatever – just do it ahead of time. You will be thrilled and ready when you need them. You will be resilient as you remember, and you will find more joy and praise in your future.
- Disappointment is a comma in your story, not a question mark or a period. You and God have more to write.