We have been exploring the topic of why do we not start what we finish? Why is it in the middle of a project or ministry we seem to flatten out and loose that energy and excitement to finish. Paul tells us:
11 Now also finish the task, so that just as there was an eager desire, there may also be a completion, according to what you have. 1 Corinthians 8:11
We have looked at our focus, frustration and now I think we should take a look at disappointment. One of the greatest weapons of our enemy is to get your expectations so high that when you do not meet them, you are disappointed. He waits for something to come along to shake your foundation up and start the whispers that slander you and the name of our Heavenly Father. It can be job loss, relationship issues, loss of life, financial insecurity, persecution, spiritual warfare, and the list is endless.
Disappointment is, sadness or displeasure caused by the nonfulfillment of one’s hopes or expectations. We started out a project or commitment with great excitement, but something came along caused us sadness or displeasure. I believe disappointment comes from our emotions.
I believe disappointment ties back into our focus and frustration. We have shifted our eyes off of Jesus and when things stopped going as we planned or our way, we got angry. Frustration is just a fluffy word for anger. We got angry at someone else or we got angry with God for not having given us what we thought we needed to complete the task or we feel like he is not there and has abandoned us.
Disappointment happen when my expectations are not aligned with real-time experiences. A great example of unrealistic expectations is found in Exodus 32. Israel had been rescued from Egypt, and they were now wondering in the desert for 40 days. Moses was nowhere to be found and they found themselves in an unfamiliar place and lost. What they had expected and where they are at where not close, not even int he same galaxy.
Have you found yourself there? I know a year ago I found myself in that place! God brought me back to Colorado. I was on fire and so excited that he was going to start something amazing. When I got there, my expectations were not even in the same solar system as reality. This conflict arose in my mind. Did God lead me back to Colorado or did I go on my own? Was I out of the will of God? Was I causing all these things to happen….and what on earth is happening? I was upset with God. WHat was the point of even coming back? I could have discovered all the lies, manipulations, and deception without being up close and next to it.
My expectations had shifted my focus. When we set our focus on God, we become blind to the circumstances and we just put our trust in God. I had taken those blinders off and looked around and saw that things were far worse than they had been to start with. I shifted the focus from God and got frustrated.
What do we do when we get disappointed? I believe Psalm 77 give us hope. The author of this Psalm is Asaph. He was appointed by KIng David to be the worship leader. We know little about him, but he was a skilled singer and prophet as mentioned in 1 Chron. 6:31–32; 2 Chron.s 29:30.
1 I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, and he will hear me.
2 I sought the Lord in my day of trouble.
My hands were continually lifted up
all night long;
I refused to be comforted.
3 I think of God; I groan;
I meditate; my spirit becomes weak.Selah
4 You have kept me from closing my eyes;
I am troubled and cannot speak.
5 I consider days of old,
years long past.
6 At night I remember my music;
I meditate in my heart, and my spirit ponders.
7 “Will the Lord reject forever
and never again show favor?
8 Has his faithful love ceased forever?
Is his promise at an end for all generations?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger withheld his compassion?” Selah
10 So I say, “I am grieved
that the right hand of the Most High has changed.”
11 I will remember the Lord’s works;
yes, I will remember your ancient wonders.
12 I will reflect on all you have done
and meditate on your actions.
13 God, your way is holy.
What god is great like God?
14 You are the God who works wonders;
you revealed your strength among the peoples.
15 With power you redeemed your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.Selah
Psalms 77 1:15
This psalm is broken into three parts and a pattern begins to emerge. The first being the psalmist describing his disappointment. He is wallowing and refuses to be comforted to the point he can not speak and he is in such distress he grows faint. From there, his emotions seem to frame questions that poke and prod at his very deep belief (Verses 7-9).
Will the Lord reject forever?
Will he never show his favor again?
Has his promise failed for all time?
Has God forgotten to be merciful?
Have you been here before? Asked these same questions?
It is not spoken, but I like to think he answered them as he sang them:
Will the Lord reject forever? – no
Will he never show his favor again? – no, He gave His favor once he will give it again
Has his promise failed for all time? -no, His promises never fail
Has God forgotten to be merciful? – no, He is gracious and merciful
These rhetorical questions, we all know the answer to, but sometimes we have to hear ourselves ask them aloud. The psalmist is being honest with himself and God. He allows himself to be human and be completely honest with God. Our honesty with God is also our permission to God to let His healing work begin. Our honesty is giving God the go ahead to move into the place of disappointment instead of holding back and holding on to it.
The danger of disappointment is bitterness. Disappointment can turn to discouragement, which turns to resentment and will end up in bitterness. The longer we hang onto disappointment, the harder our hearts will become. We develop a grudge against God. Instead of answering those rhetorical questions in truth and light of God’s Word, be believe the complete opposite.
The Psalmist gives us help in understanding how we need to allow our perspective to be changed to see the bigger picture God is working.
#1 admit your disappointment to God
I believe because God knows all our thoughts, what we are feeling, we are given permission to honestly tell him what we are feeling and thinking. The Psalmist might have been asking dumb questions, but he came before God and said I do not know if I believe you are faithful or merciful. He sang, I am not sure you are here, or for me. Have you ever said allow in prayer, God where are you, and as soon as you said you already knew the answer. Our honesty opens the door for the Holy Spirit to remind us of truth and what God has already done. This start the change of the attitude we need.
When we are honest with God, we are being honest with ourselves. That honesty opens the door to perspective and gives us the place to confront what we are feeling and thinking. Admitting them outloud devoids them of the power to let it fester on the inside. Festering on the inside, disappointment becomes a road block from moving forward. There is a great danger when we allow them to fester inside.
Maybe this is you? Grab a piece of paper and write down all your disappointments. Do not spend a long time on this, they are there, just write them down.
What are you disappointed about?
Where has disappointment lead to discouragement, resentment or bitterness?
Why should you let this go?
Honesty is the step needed to move forward.
#2 God is Faithful
Asapha started to list the things that God had done in his life, God’s faithfulness.
11 I will remember the Lord’s works;
yes, I will remember your ancient wonders.
12 I will reflect on all you have done
and meditate on your actions.
Psalm 77:11-12
Notice the meditation and focus change. At first he was meditating on his problems, and as he honestly spoke them outloud, he then remembered the work of the Lord, all He has done. His focus changed from his problems back to God. When we begin to stack the list of God’s faithfulness against our list of disappointments, they seem so fickle and incomparable. The key to dissolving disappointment is to center our focus back on God!
#3 Ask God for a perspective change
We have all heard that saying, its difficult to see the forest through the trees. Guess what, God has a bird’s eye view of the forest. He can and will help you if you ask. We all have a free will choice. God will never force himself upon you. You have to ask. Ask God for a godly perspective. This is where we are given endurance to move forward in a situation until it is resolved. In many of our situations, the waiting period can be long with no end in sight, but keeping focus on Him will give us the perspective to keep our focus on Him and protect us from letting disappointment fester into discouragement, or even worse, resentment and bitterness.
Let Asapha be an example of how to not let that disappointment fester.
13 God, your way is holy.
What god is great like God?
14 You are the God who works wonders;
you revealed your strength among the peoples.
15 With power you redeemed your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.Selah
Psalm 77:13-15
It Starts Small 
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