Disappointments inLife
No one is helpless whose hope is in God.
Disappointments in Life
Who or what comes to mind when you think of the word disappointment?
No one likes disappointment, but it’s inevitable. We usually encounter it in our lives in one of four ways. First, people disappoint us. Anyone who does not meet our expectations is a disappointment. On the flipside, we disappoint others, sometimes severely. Second, we are often disappointed in ourselves. We fail to live up to our own expectations. Third, we are disappointed in our circumstances. Unexpectedly, we have become the latest victim of cancer or job cuts at our workplace. Fourth, we are disappointed in God. At the time we need Him most, He seems to be silent and absent. Disappointment leads to bitterness and anger toward God. Disappointment is a common experience. Since there’s no running away from it, how do we cope?
This selection of articles from Our Daily Bread offers a different perspective on disappointment and a radical approach to living that is intended to comfort you and encourage you to rise from the ashes of sorrow, pain, and turmoil into hope, joy, and peace. If you find these articles helpful and would like to receive this devotional, just complete the request form on this leaflet and send it to us. There is no subscription fee.
© 2012 by RBC Ministries. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Day 1
Flying mAChines
reAd:
Psalm 6
I am worn out from sobbing. All night I flood my bed with weeping, drenching it with my tears.
—Psalm 6:6
Recording artist James Taylor exploded onto the music scene in early 1970 with the song “Fire and Rain.” In it, he talked about the disappointments of life, describing them as “sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground.” That was a reference to Taylor’s original band Flying Machine, whose attempt at breaking into the recording industry had failed badly, causing him to wonder if his dreams of a musical career would ever come true. The reality of crushed expectations had taken their toll, leaving Taylor with a sense of loss and hopelessness.
The psalmist David also experienced hopeless despair as he struggled with his own failures, the attacks of others, and the disappointments of life. In Psalm 6:6, he said, “I am worn out from sobbing. All night I flood my bed with weeping, drenching it with my tears.” The depth of his sorrow and loss drove him to heartache— but in that grief he turned to the God of all comfort, prompting him to say, “The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord will answer my prayer” (v.9).
In our own seasons of disappointment, we too can find comfort in God, who cares for our broken hearts.
Bill Crowder
O yes, He cares—I know He cares! His heart is touched with my grief; When the days are weary, the long nights dreary, I know my Savior cares. —Graeff
No one is hopeless whose hope is in God.
Day 2
CrACked lenses
reAd:
Psalm 141
II look to You for help, O Sovereign Lord. You are my refuge.
—Psalm 141:8
started wearing glasses when I was 10 years old. They are still a necessity because my 50-something eyes are losing their battle against time. When I was younger, I thought glasses were a nuisance—especially when playing sports. Once, the lenses of my glasses got cracked while I was playing softball. It took several weeks to get them replaced. In the meantime, I saw everything in a skewed and distorted way.
In life, pain often functions like cracked lenses. It creates within us a conflict between what we experience and what we believe. Pain can give us a badly distorted perspective on life—and on God. In those times, we need our God to provide us with new lenses to help us see clearly again.
That clarity of sight usually begins when we turn our eyes upon the Lord. The psalmist encouraged us to do this: “I look to You for help, O Sovereign Lord. You are my refuge” (Psalm 141:8). Seeing God clearly can help us see life’s experiences more clearly.
As we turn our eyes to the Lord in times of pain and struggle, we will experience His comfort and hope in our daily lives. He will help us to see everything clearly again. Bill Crowder
Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face; And the things of earth will grow strangely dim In the light of His glory and grace.
—Lemmel © Renewal 1950 Singspiration, Inc.
Focusing on Christ puts everything in perspective.
Day 3
sourCe oF hope
reAd:
Lamentations 3:19-27
Whatgood is faith when all seems lost? I’ve asked that penetrating question in my life, and not long ago I received a letter from a mom who has asked it as well.
The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease.
—Lamentations 3:22
She told me that she and her husband set out in their marriage to seek God’s will for their lives and entrust their future to Him. Then their second son was born with Down syndrome. Their initial response was “grief, shock, and disbelief.” Yet the same day he was born, God used Philippians 4:6-7 to put peace in their hearts and give them an undying love for their precious son. It says: “Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
But their days in the desert were not over. Nine years later, their fourth son was diagnosed with cancer. Before he reached his third birthday, he was gone. Shock, pain, and sadness again broke into their world. And again, they found help from God and His Word. “When the grief overwhelms us,” says this mom, “we turn to God’s Word and His gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ.” When life’s troubles hit us like a tidal wave, we can remember that God’s compassions never fail (Lamentations 3:22). He can give us the hope we need. Dave Branon When we are weak and in despair, Our mighty God is near; He’ll give us strength and joy and hope, And calm our inner fear. —Sper
Feeling hopeless reminds us that we are helpless without God.
Day 4
Where To look
reAd:
Romans 8:35-39
Whatcrisis do we face today? It could be terrorism and its random threat. Or the economy and the fear that we will run out of money before we run out of time. Maybe it’s a personal crisis with no foreseeable solution—a tragedy or a failure too great to bear.
Let us run with endurance the race . . . by keeping our eyes on Jesus.
—Hebrews 12:1-2
Before we fall under the weight of our accumulated fears, we would do well to look back to a 20th-century woman who bore sadness, pain, and heartache with grace.
Corrie ten Boom lived through the hellish life of Nazi concentration camps—a place where hope was lost for most people. She survived to tell her story of unfaltering faith and tight-fisted hope in God.
She saw the face of evil up close and personal. She saw some of the most inhumane acts man can do to man. And when she came out of it all, she said this: “If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. But if you look at Christ, you’ll be at rest.”
Where are you looking? Are you focusing on the world and its dangers? Are you gazing at yourself, hoping to find your own answers? Or are you looking to Jesus, the one who initiates and perfects your faith (Hebrews 12:1-2)? In an uncertain world, we must keep looking to Jesus. —Dave Branon Are you disappointed, my child, With the world and all around?
Turn your eyes from earth to heaven, Where true joys may all be found. —Anon.
Looking for someone who won’t disappoint you? Look to Jesus.
Day 5
A Time To Cry
reAd:
John 11:1-7, 32-36
Jesus wept.
—– John 11:35
My father (Richard DeHaan) had been battling a debilitating disease for many years. We asked the Lord to take him home. But as I knelt by his bed and watched him take that last breath, the tears I had choked back on other occasions came out like a flood. As my brothers and my mother hugged and prayed, the finality was overwhelming.
That event helped me understand the significance of the shortest verse in the Bible: “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). God the Son wept! He knew the reality of heaven. He was the source of all hope of a future day of resurrection. And yet, Jesus cried. He loved His friends Mary and Martha and Lazarus so much that “He was deeply troubled” (v.33). Jesus truly felt their heartache. When someone we love dies, we struggle with a wide range of emotions. If a young person dies, we ask “Why?” When death comes after long-term suffering, we struggle to understand why the Lord waited so long to bring relief. We begin to think of God as distant, untouched by our sorrow. We may question His wisdom or His goodness. Then we read, “Jesus wept.” God is deeply touched by our anguish. When a painful situation invades your life, remember the Bible’s shortest verse. Jesus shed tears too. Kurt DeHaan
He knows our burdens and our crosses, Those things that hurt, our trials and losses, He cares for every soul that cries, God wipes the tears from weeping eyes. —Brandt
If you doubt that Jesus cares, remember His tears.
Day 6
obsoleTe
reAd: Isaiah 35
Those who have been ransomed by the Lord [will be] crowned with everlasting joy. Sorrow and mourning will disappear, and they will be filled with joy and gladness.
—Isaiah 35:10
Pastor and author Joseph Parker (1830–1902) commented about the closing words of Isaiah 35:10, “Sorrow and mourning will disappear.” He said, “Looking through the dictionary, you will occasionally come across a word marked ‘obsolete.’ The time is coming when the two words sorrow and mourning shall be obsolete. The things which mar life here and now will then belong to the past.”
Human existence has been marked by tragedy, heartache, disappointment, and evil. It’s comforting to know that the time is coming when sorrow and death will pass away, and God Himself will wipe all tears from our eyes. Then we will experience the truth that “there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever” (Revelation 21:4). Are you burdened today by some seemingly insurmountable problem? Are you lonely, heartbroken, and disappointed? If you are a child of God, dwell on this reassuring thought: “What we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory He will reveal to us later” (Romans 8:18). A brighter day is coming when words such as sighing, death, and tears will all be obsolete. So don’t be downhearted, beloved child of God. Keep looking up! —Richard DeHaan Think of a land of no sorrow, Think of a land of no fears, Think of no death and no sickness, Think of a land of no tears. —Anon.
Heaven—no pain, no night, no death, no tears.
