Overcoming Disappointment
Oh, how fast 2019 has gone by! I look back into this past year and I cannot help but be grateful for how much the Father has done in and through me! Out of all the things that the Lord has taught me this year, one of the most impactful things that he revealed to me was that I have been battling disappointment. Disappointment in myself, when things do not go the way that I planned or hoped, and when someone doesn't respond the way I had hoped.
As my last post for 2019, I want to spearhead the subject of "disappointment." Towards the end of this year I noticed a slight change in my inner life when dealing with hard things. It wasn't the initial reaction, but in the way I felt days afterwards. Whenever my wife and I would get into disagreements or heated arguments we would reconcile, but I would walk away still feeling mournful. The same feeling would come up when I would be leading some kind of ministry time and others would not respond the way I expected them to. I often felt pressure as someone in ministry to behave well, so when these feelings came up I would allow disappointment to rise up within me, which led to shame and self-preservation. I did the one thing that I only knew to do and that was to talk to the Father.
As I brought it to him this is what he shared with me:
"Jason, all of your childhood disappointments were never dealt with, so they revealed themselves in your new creation walk. Your disappointment is rooted in belief system that I am not good, but I give you beauty for ashes and joy for your mourning."
"'There were moments in your childhood when you did not receive gifts you had hoped for and you were let down. That is why you have a "I need to have that mentality.'"
"Son, you will never go without. My job as your father is to make sure that your needs are met. With me you will never go without love, mercy, gifts, understanding, and wisdom. So don't hide yourself in disappointment. Hide yourself in my love. Disappointment only brings fear and anxiety. Stand confident in my love for you and believe what you have seen, heard, and experienced in me."
Friends, I am here to share some good news with you today:
"Your disappointments are God appointments."
1 Peter 2:6 says that whoever believes in him will not be put to shame. Shame comes from being disappointed in yourself. Believe in who your father is and the finished work he accomplished so that you do not have to struggle with disappointment any longer. If you have been dealing with fear or anxiety in your relationship with God, then you have not experienced his unconditional love in that specific area. (1 John 4:18)
In Philippians 4:9, Paul encourages the saints in Philippi with this:
"What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you."
Paul is simply imparting the example that he has imitated from the life of Jesus. In your relationship with Jesus, what are you learning? What are you receiving from him? What are you hearing and seeing? Whatever they are, practice them and apply them to every negative circumstance you are going through. Next time you find yourself in disappointment go to Him. Though he is rejected by men (1 Peter 2:4), go to him. He will fix it.
Those disappointments are simply rooted in a lie about God that we believe. If a thought or feeling you are having doesn't lead you back to Jesus, have another thought!
I will end with this:
Your disappointments are actually divine appointments with God. Just check in and be seated. Remain seated (Ephesians 2:6). Nothing can steal your seat at the fathers table faster than a lie.
