I am a little bit of a weather buff. I dream of taking a summer vacation chasing storms in the Midwest. The TV remote often stops, at least for a moment, on the Weather Channel, especially if something extreme is happening somewhere in the world. A couple of years ago I purchased a thermometer which shows the both the inside and outside temps. Somehow it even forecasts the weather for the current 24-hour period, which this spring has been easy in Bellingham because there’s been so much rain. I thought the device was broken today because it was displaying the icon for the sun, which I had never seen, but like I said I’ve only had it for a couple of years. Okay, I am exaggerating but it has been really wet in Whatcom County.
My weather device is designed to measure the conditions surrounding mi casa. In my previous blog I began to explore the theme of DISAPPOINTMENT. I believe disappointment points to the changing conditions in our heart.
Disappointment is something we all experience. John Cheever, in Leadership Journal, writes: "The main emotion of the adult American who has had all the advantages of wealth, education, and culture is disappointment." It’s not like we can ever reach a place where we’re exempt from being disappointed because we’ve become so mature, or we’ve got so much money, or we’re so wise we can avoid it (Ecc. 1:18 suggests just the opposite). For many people, according to Cheever, disappointment will be the “main emotion” they experience in life.
The theme I want to explore today is how we can recover from the disappointments of life. I’ve heard people suggest the way to avoid disappointment is to eliminate expectation. That seems like a sad way to live, to never expect something good to happen or to be excited about what’s to come.
It’s been my experience in life that disappointment points primarily to two changing conditions in my heart: HOPE and TRUST. The depths and degrees to which I experience disappointment are directly connected to the condition of my spiritual heart. Proverbs 13:12 NIV states, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick…” The full verse in The Message reads, “Unrelenting disappointment leaves you heartsick, but a sudden good break can turn life around.”
Dwight L. Moody said, "Trust in yourself and you are doomed to disappointment. Trust in your friends and they will die and leave you. Trust in money and you may have it taken from you. Trust in your reputation and some slanderous tongue may blast it. But trust in God and you are never to be confounded in time or eternity." Moody’s observation moves us is the right direction towards healing a heart which has been dealt a blow by disappointment. The answer is not to lower our expectations, to protect our heart from future disappointments, but to renew our hope and trust in God. Paul touches on this renewing process in Romans 5:1-5: (NIV)
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”
When I am disappointed it’s an indication my TRUST and HOPE in God need to be renewed. Personally, I do this by reminding myself of God’s love. (Romans 5:5 NLT “For we know how dearly God loves us…”) He cares about what I care about. He cares about my disappointments. He knows what is best and wants the best for me. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”
Once I am confident in God’s love for me, I focus my attention on His promises. I am not thinking so much of the individual promises we find in God’s Word, but more specifically the specific promise contained in God’s salvation story. This blog is getting long, so I will continue this thought next time.
“If I look at myself, I am depressed. If I look at those around me, I am often disappointed. If I look at my circumstances, I am discouraged. But if I look at Jesus, I am constantly, consistently, and eternally fulfilled!” *Anonymous
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