Dealing with Disappointments
It seems like every day there is something that doesn’t go according to plan. Whether it’s something you tried your best at and failed, or something you feel you didn’t work hard enough towards. We are faced with disappointments almost as much as we are blessed with happiness, but feeling disappointment isn’t exactly a “sinful thing”, as I’ve heard it described as. We are human, with human emotions, and feeling sadness is a natural thing. Disappointments are sort of an extension of sadness. Disappointment is “the feeling of sadness or displeasure caused by the nonfulfillment of one's hopes or expectations.” We ought to always have our hopes and expectations set on the highest goal, life with God through living by Him. This is a tall order, even though it is the only way to be with God, so naturally, things won’t always go according to our plan.
Jesus felt disappointment so many times during His walk here on earth. My mind immediately goes to the rich young ruler in Matthew 19: 16-22. Here is a young man, who seemingly has lived a godly life, asking Jesus what more he could do. Even after Jesus tells him, the young man still wants more. He asks again, “what do I lack?” Yet the man doesn’t like Jesus’ response. Jesus wants him to give up his unnecessary possessions he holds so highly, but the man loves them too much, and leaves. I can’t imagine being in Jesus place. Here is a young man, so full of zeal to do God’s work, yet lacking enough in one area that it causes him to fall away. The hurt and disappointment Jesus felt in that moment must have been strong. How Jesus deals with the disappointment is the lesson we should take from this.
If it had been me speaking those words to that young man, and seeing him walk away because of what I had said, I would feel disappointed, and then wonder, “did I do something wrong to make him walk away from his faith?” Our disappointment can cloud our judgement and keep us from focusing on the real task; spreading the Word. When we spread the word and others don’t like what we are saying, we could think “I never want to dothat again,” but Jesus didn’t react this way. Jesus was confident in what He said (notice how he quoted scriptures to answer the man’s questions), and when the young man didn’t want to obey it, He turned it into a lesson for His disciples, instead of basking in His disappointment.
We are going to run into disappointment in our life, but it is how we deal with it that helps us grow in faith or shrink from God. Don’t let these disappointments cloud your vision, but rather shape yourself to grow from the lessons you learn during these times. Thank you for reading, and have a blessed week.
In Him,
Halle Nelsen
