When God Disappoints You, Find Your Hope Here...

Here in the glow of hope rising upon a new season, we look to the future and give our dreams permission to set sail. But let’s be honest, new beginnings are also invitations to gaze behind us. Every new season is an opportunity to pause and look square in the face of a year’s worth of disappointments in life. Where do you turn when God disappoints you?

What do you do when your plans fall to pieces?

Where do you turn when the bottom falls out?

When God Disappoints You

Some of us are disappointed in our friendships. We’re considering giving up on the whole idea of community and accountability.

Some of us put everything we had into our careers, and everything fell apart.

We had goals for our finances, our waistlines, our marriages, and our ministries, and some of these areas are worse off now than they were when we had so much hope.

Even worse, some of us have achieved every goal. We lost the weight, took hold of the promotion, climbed out of debt, and saw a dream come to fruition. And then we woke up, took a long look at it all, and realized we still lacked the fulfillment we hoped it would all bring.

Maybe this is the worst kind of disappointment of all: Reaching a goal, only to realize you still feel just as empty and threadbare as you felt when you set out.

Maybe this is the worst kind of disappointment of all: Reaching a goal, only to realize you still feel just as empty and threadbare as you felt when you set out. #goals #newyear #disappointment Click To Tweet

The Good News about Disappointments in Life

Friends, let’s not lose heart.

In our disappointment, we realize we were created for more than this life could ever offer. In our disappointment, we see that every accomplishment in the world might just leave us with an empty space in our souls that asks, “Is this really it? Is this really as good as it gets?”

Our disappointments are gateways to greater hope because disappointments remind us that we’ll never be fully satisfied in this life. God created us to live in perfect unity with him. He designed us to live in unbroken fellowship with him. Life disappoints us because none of us have perfect fellowship with him in this broken world.

Our disappointments remind us that nothing this world can offer will ever leave us fully satisfied. We were made to walk with God. We won’t be fully satisfied until we’re in his presence before his throne.

If you’re feeling disappointed today, if your dreams haven’t come to fruition – or if they have, and you’re still miserable – let your disappointment lead you to a place of hope. Let it lead you to the hope of what is to come. Let yourself yearn for heaven, where every longing will be satisfied. Remind yourself that you were created for another world.

Promises for When God Disappoints You:

Here are a few promises to cling to when disappointment is high and hope is nowhere to be found:

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Philippians 3:20-21

In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? John 14:2

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. Revelation 21:4

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

I close with wise words from C.S. Lewis:

“Most people, if they had really learned to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world. There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise.”

God keeps his promises. Put your trust in Jesus, and disappointments in life don’t have to break you. Your hope is in eternal things.

A Gift to Help You When God Disappoints You:

Are you in the middle of a difficult season? My gift to you is my 20-day devotional, Glimpses of Hope for When Life Lets You Down. This devotional will lead you through a daily reflection, Scripture reading, and questions for thought and reflection. It will help you process your emotions in the safe place of God’s presence. It’s yours by clicking here.