IF YOU’VE LIVED long enough, you’ve probably experienced some disappointments. Even as a child, you dealt with them. They come for all kinds of reasons. Your dream job turned out to be a nightmare, or you didn’t get the promotion you thought was yours. Maybe the kids are causing problems, or you had a friend who wasn’t loyal to you. Maybe your investments didn’t perform well, or you received a bad medical report. Maybe your team lost the game. And sometimes, stuff just breaks.
We make plans, but they don’t always turn out exactly as we expect. We live in an imperfect world, and the devil wants to destroy us because of what the Bible says. If we are breathing God’s oxygen, we have faced disappointment.
Look at these people in the Bible who experienced disappointment. Joseph had a dream, but he was betrayed. David was anointed king, but he had to run for his life. Daniel prayed to God, but he was thrown to the lions. All of these people encountered disappointment, but they all overcame it.
We need to realize that the obstacle is temporary, but God’s Word is permanent.
Let’s look at Abraham’s situation as an example. Abraham believed God for a son for many years before something happened:
Genesis 15: 1—6 (NLT)
1 Some time later, the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you and your reward will be great.”
2 But Abram replied, “Oh, Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth.
3 You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.”
4 Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.”
5 Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!”
6 And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.
In verse two, Abraham says, “Oh, Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son?” Abraham was disappointed. Time had passed, and he still didn’t have a son. It seemed too late for him and Sarah to have children. But God had told him earlier that he would have descendants (see
Genesis 12). He spoke to him again in Genesis 15:4, saying, “You will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” Abraham chose to continue believing God. As a result, he bounced back from disappointment (see Genesis 17:17 and Genesis 21). And you can, too.
Three things caused Abraham to bounce back when he wasn’t receiving God’s promises:
- God stayed with Abraham and took care of him.
God was there to take care of Abraham and bless him. He said, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great” (Gen. 15:1 NLT). God was there to help Abraham, and He’s there today to do the same for you. If you look in the Word of God, you’ll find that He promises to be with you in the good times and the bad times.
Hebrews 13:5—6 (NLT) says, “For God has said, ‘I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.’ So we can say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear.’” We need to see God as being there with us. Even when we don’t see anything, even when we don’t feel anything, even when we see no change, God is still there helping us.
There’s a true story about Bethany Hamilton that was later made into a movie. When she was 13, while she was swimming, a shark suddenly bit Bethany’s left arm off. She lost 60 percent of her blood. As she was receiving medical treatment, a paramedic whispered in her ear, “God will never leave you nor forsake you.” She remembered that moment of hope and went on to recover. With just one arm, Bethany became one of the top surfers in the world.
- God stayed faithful to His promise to Abraham.
In Genesis 15:4, God said to Abraham, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own” (NLT). God remained faithful to His promise even when Abraham didn’t see anything happening.
“Faithful” means to be trustworthy, dependable, and reliable. My grandfather, E. H. Rooker, told me one time, “Son, you’re only as good as your word.” He would make a deal with someone and shake their hand, and that person knew my grandfather would do what he said he would do.
God is the ultimate example of someone who is trustworthy. You can trust that He will be faithful to deliver you out of your discouragement and despondency. Deuteronomy 7:9 says, “He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands” (NLT).
- God gave Abraham something to remind him that He was still at work.
In Genesis 15:5, God said to Abraham, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!” (NLT). Seeing the stars at night showed Abraham that God was still working on his behalf.
Just because situations arise and disappointment comes, it’s not a sign that God is not at work. We live in a world that wants everything now, but sometimes God has to work some things out before He can bring our answer. When we’re disappointed, we must remember that God is able to turn things around. Abraham didn’t give up on God’s promises. He didn’t say, “I don’t know why it’s not happening.” Instead, he was determined to trust God.
We need to realize that the obstacle is temporary, but God’s Word is permanent. If we keep believing His Word, our disappointment—our trouble, whatever it is—will have to disappear. We can count on Him to do what He said.
Author
Kenneth W. Hagin
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