As a man trying to move forward in his calling and purpose, one thing I really struggle with is disappointment. And after much thought, I’ve come up with a conclusion.
A disappointment is a state of attitude or feeling. It’s a state of “being let down,” a feeling of sadness and frustration. The way I see it is that an unfortunate “DIS” appeared in an appointment we had in our future. The prefix “dis” means “not” or the “opposite of”… In other words, we had a mental arrangement or an expectation that was eliminated or cancelled. And by doing so, it caused us to be disconnected from the expectation of our preconceived appointment.
Now, defining disappointments is one thing but understanding where they come from is another. I’ve had my share of disappointments and in many cases an overdose. 🙂 But in analyzing and asking God for wisdom to recognize their origin, I realized some things:
1. Disappointments DON’T come from God. One of His attributes of God is that He is FAITHFUL.
- His faithfulness denotes that His purpose for us is that we succeed. “Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands. (Deuteronomy 7:9)
2. Disappointments come from us. We get disappointed when things fail to live up to our own preconceived expectations.
- We attach expectation to every part of our lives. We create conclusions as to how we expect things to pan out. And we do this more when we are the center of our universe!
3. Eliminating expectation is NOT the answer.
- This is much of the behavior of people who have had their share in disappointments. Eliminating expectation is not the answer to living free from the pain of disappointments. Without expectation there is no hope.
4. Disappointments come when we place God in a box. We expect Him to fulfill His purpose our way.
- And that usually occurs when we have an “it’s all about me” attitude. In the Kingdom of God, self-aggrandizement, pride, selfishness and laziness will always lead to failed efforts of notoriety or empty “accomplishments.”
5. It’s all about attitude and misplaced expectation.
- I’ve come to comprehend a kingdom paradox…our dreams never die until we do, but it’s only in “our death” that they become alive again. When our attitude is one of service and humility then we position ourselves NEVER to be disappointed in our expectations.
Understand that the greatest “seeming disappointment” was the crucifixion of Jesus. Oh how the disciples must have felt! Their expectations were most definitely misplaced! It was only in His death that victory was achieved.
So, if you are feeling disappointment over an unfulfilled expectation, remember this… God is faithful, He will fulfill His purpose through you – but only if it’s His purpose and not yours. And what might be the end of something it could very likely be the beginning of something very BIG and SUCCESSFUL!
