Dealing with Disappointment by Larry Ollison

Dealing with Disappointment

Let's find out what God says about one of the most dramatic problems in the church today - disappointment.



Disappointment is something that most people feel is not really a problem, because they feel they can easily handle it. If the devil can convince you that a disappointment is not really a problem, then you will not deal with it. Or if he puts something in your life that you feel you can handle on your own, you probably won't go to the Father with it, or you won't get into the Word of God to find out what the Scripture says about it. You'll try to handle it in the flesh. When you handle it in the flesh, the solution is only temporary, not permanent.



In the Word, God gives us the solution for solving our problems. But in the world, rarely do we hear about a problem being resolved. In the world, we hear about cover up. When people join alcoholic programs, many times they are told, "You need to understand this. You are an alcoholic. You will always be an alcoholic. You will have to deal with it the rest of your life." That is the way the world handles it. But in Christ, you no longer are an alcoholic. You are delivered from it.



Most people, and even many Christians, try to handle the disappointments of life themselves. It might be a birthday present you hoped for but didn't get, not receiving recognition for something you did, hoping a certain cute boy or girl would notice you, but instead you felt ignored. How would you handle those disappointments in the flesh? You would probably say to yourself, "Snap out of it, Jack. Get over it! Get a life," and that would be fine - except all of those disappointments pack down inside of you.



The apostle Paul said in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Jesus gave us access to the spiritual things that will solve our problems. Most Christians don't realize the power that is available to them to solve even the smallest of problems.



That power is God's grace.



The grace of God has been described as His ability in us that enables us to do what we can't do on our own. Hebrews 4:16 says, "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." When large or small disappointments come into your life, as a Christian you have the right to go boldly before the Father and ask for His grace. His grace, applied to your disappointment, will cause it to dissipate instead of building up inside of you.