Yesterday I posted some thoughts on our hope in disappointment. Disappointment is real. Disappointment hurts and can be very painful. Disappointment in this world shows that we have expectations for how things should go. Disappointment is a result of living in a world full of sin. Disappointment is a part of our lives on a daily basis. Disappointments can be small, like getting lost while driving a car. Disappointments can also be very large, like losing a loved one to cancer. But like the rest of the Christian life, there is an important theology to disappointment. Here are 4 keys to a correct theology of disappointment, so that hope always over shadow the disappointment.
First, our disappointments are only a small piece of the bigger picture. We live in a world polluted by sin. We ourselves are sinfully corrupt in our nature before Christ. Satan is the ruler of this world. Even as Christians, purified and justified by God, we still wrestle with sin in our own lives. Death is a reality in this world. Violence, hardship, and pain are all daily problems in this world. This world is clearly not functioning in the sinless state God created it to be. This all means our part in this world, is part of the larger whole. Our disappointment runs into other people's disappointment. Our loss in death is part of the loss as a whole. Our sin is part of the larger picture of sin. To correctly understand disappointment and hope, we must come to the realization we are simply a small portion of the large community. Our small amount of disappointment is only a small portion in the greater whole. Our small amount of disappointment is not the end of the world or God's plans.
Second, our disappointments might show us we are not in line with the will of God. Disappointment comes from our expectations not being met. As humans, we expect something from every person, every situation, and every step in our lives. Many times we are disappointed becasue our expectations are sinful, selfish, and not God glorifying. Selfish expectations lead to disappointment because we did not get what we want. Sinful expectations lead to disappointment when our sinful flesh and desire was not met. When disappointment comes, we must check our expectations. We must realize many times we are disappointed in life, becasue we are selfish and sinful and must align ourselves back with God. To truly hope in the Lord, when disappointment arrives, we must let it drive us back to the heart of God.
Third, our disappointments may show we do have the same expectations as God. We live in a world full of sin. We live in a world full of death, which is contrary to God's created order. We live in a world full of people who despise and hate God. And as Christians, we know what God's good looks like and what a life living for God's glory is. This means, sometimes, our disappointment arrives becasue we are in step with God. When God's name is defamed. When death takes a child of God. When we sin against another person. All of these situations in life will breed disappointment. But this disappointment is good becasue it shows we want what God wants and we desire to do God's will. When disappointment arrives, we must let it drive us back to the heart of God and hope in Him alone. And we do this by checking our expectations against God's Word.
Finally, our disappointments must drive us to both lamentation and action. When disappointment arrives, we must mourn if it is called for. When disappointment arrives, we must turn to God and lament his desires not being done. When disappointment arrives, we must act in such a way that hope surfaces to the top. We must seek the heart of God. We must seek the glory and fame of God. We must seek to make hope in the Lord known in the disappointing situation. If it is called for, we must repent of bringing the disappointment. If it is called for, we must cry with those who cry and carry those who mourn in disappointment. And when it is called for, we must shine as light into the darkness with our hope in the Lord alone. Disappointment is a time for lamentation, trust in the Lord, and action to glorify God above all else.
Disappointment is going to happen, regardless of what we want. Hope in the Lord must be the result. As God's children, we know what we are to hope in. We know God. We know what He is like. We know the power He posses. We know the character He demonstrates. We know the plan He perfectly fulfills. As God's children, we know He controls every single disappointment we deal with on a daily basis. So having a correctly theology of disappointment must drive us to hope in the Lord above all else. The only solution for our disappointment is God. So let us hope in the Lord in every circumstance.
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