Beyond Disappointment

Beyond Disappointment

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. . . . Hope will not lead to disappointment. Romans 5:3, 5

IN ENGLISH, HOPE HAS A BROAD MEANING. We hope our team wins, hope for great weather, and say, “I hope so,” while shaking our heads in a gesture that indicates anything but hope. But, as we’ve seen, biblical hope is an expectation of what is certain to come in the future, an anticipation of what God has already placed on the timeline ahead of us, even as we wait to get there. Yet even with this kind of hope, when we believe God will do something but then discover he won’t or is still holding it for long past the time we would like, we get discouraged. We wonder what went wrong. Our hopes end in disappointment.

How do we handle disappointment? We can’t blame God—or at least in the depths of our souls, we know we shouldn’t. Sometimes we blame others, resenting them for getting in the way. But mostly we blame ourselves, beating ourselves up for misunderstanding the dynamics of faith and sometimes vowing never to put our hearts out there like that again. Disappointment is a brutal kind of pain, and if we let it linger, we eventually have to numb our souls to its effects. We shut down our expectations and go through life without much joy.

We can trust God absolutely that, in the big picture, the hope he has given us will not disappoint. His promises of salvation, redemption, restoration, and ultimate joy are clear and unchanging. In that context, temporary disappointments along the way become much more manageable, especially when we use them for growth, endurance, and an opportunity to hope again. Like David, we can spend our lives preparing for the fulfilled promise, even though it may come to the next generation (see devotional reading for November 18). Like the disciples, we can go fishing until Jesus shows up again (John 21)—and we know he will. Whatever it takes, we lift our gaze and expect good things because God brings resurrection out of death, and his mercies endure forever. In his Kingdom, disappointment is temporary and hope lasts forever.

We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.