Redeeming Disappointment
By: Amy Stolte
Have you ever felt disappointed by God? Have you had a prayer go unanswered? Or maybe it was answered but not the way you were hoping it would be. Maybe your life hasn’t gone how you thought it would. You had everything mapped out and then you look back and think, “Wait this isn’t how it was supposed to happen.” Or maybe, just maybe, you keep seeing other people live out the dreams that you’ve so desperately prayed for, for yourself.
That last one hits a little close to home. There have been times in my life that I remember breaking down to a friend, in my room, or sometimes out in nature staring up at the sky. I found myself crying, begging, and pleading with God telling Him that I couldn’t live through another disappointment. Situations like not getting a certain job or a relationship ending. For me, the two biggest disappointments were when I was longing to be in a relationship and my younger sister got engaged. The second one was when my entire life dream was to be a mom and it seemed like everyone around me was getting to experience motherhood… except me. These are the moments when you can’t help but question, “Hey God, did you miss me? I’m right here.” Because you think that the life that you had planned for yourself is so much better than what is happening to you.
We can get so wrapped up in these moments where we start to think, “Here we go again, yet another disappointment, another unmet dream, another missed timeline.” But what if we had a different perspective. Not too long ago a mentor was sitting across the table from me and she said, “Amy, you’re disappointed because God hasn’t shown up in the way you thought He should… and that is an issue of pride.”
Ouch, wait what!? Me? Prideful?! But, then I started to think about it more. Who am I to say that my timeline for my life is better than the God who created time, who created me, and placed me in the season for such a time as this? Proverbs 3:5-6 says: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him and He will make your paths straight.”
So, sisters, I know the disappointments are real and I know they can hurt. But what if we worked to redeem the disappointment? What if we have more trust and faith than we do disappointment? We serve a GOOD God who is FOR us, who is FOR our dreams and our desires! Romans 8:28 proves this: “He is working all things for the good of those who love Him.” Instead of being disappointed in the moment, let’s remember that God sees the bigger picture. If we can learn to trust Him, then He and He alone gets the glory for bringing us through our disappointments.