Tackling DisappointmentSýnishorn

There’s a Purpose Behind Our Disappointment

You’ve worked hard for the interview. You’ve researched, prepared, burned the proverbial midnight oil so you can do your best. On D-day, you make sure your clothes are ironed and your shoes polished. Your hair is on point. You ace the first few rounds of the interview. You can taste success. You can even picture yourself at the company Christmas party. And then in the very last round of interviews, when you almost have your foot in the door, you crash. You go blank, you fumble, you make up answers that don’t sound quite right. The interviewer looks at you politely but you can tell that this “opportunity of a lifetime” has slipped through your fingers.

Disappointment cloaks you like an oversized winter jacket. It swallows you up. You can’t sleep that night. You blame yourself. You blame God. You just can’t seem to shake it off.

Maybe you’ve been in this hypothetical scenario or in some situation that is similar. 

But, friend, remember this truth: God takes you through the valley experiences for a reason. Scripture reminds us in Isaiah 66:9, “In the same way I will not cause pain without allowing something new to be born,” says the Lord.

A place of disappointment can be a place of blessing. When He allows you to face discouraging circumstances, He has a purpose behind it. The question is whether you are allowing God to train you in that difficult season of disappointment.

If you’re a perfectionist, perhaps this is when God is asking you whether your confidence lies in your own abilities or if you’re relying on Him. 

If you’re a dreamer, perhaps this is when God is asking you whether your dream has become bigger than God Himself.

If you’re a planner, perhaps this is when God is asking you whether you’ve charted your own life map or if you’re allowing Him to work out His plans for your life. 

In the Bible we see Paul who prayed asking for God to take away the chronic physical pain. Three times he prayed. But God didn’t remove that “thorn” in Paul’s side. Did Paul retreat into devastating disappointment? No. Paul trusted that God had a purpose in not answering his prayers. Paul instead declares that he will boast in his weakness so the power of Christ may rest on him.

Friend, as you walk through the valley of disappointment, know that God is your Good Shepherd. Know that His grace is sufficient. Know that He will carry you through. May you see God more clearly and love Him more fully through the disappointments that life may bring.