Devotional Reading Plan

When you’re most disappointed, God may be most near. He may not give you all the answers you want, but He will give you all the love you need.

We can learn how to deal with disappointment from the surprising narrative of the dejected disciples on the road to Emmaus on resurrection day. With heads hung low, the two disciples walk along with Jesus, not knowing that they are in the presence of the risen Lord.

Jesus loves and walks with disappointed people.

Years ago, in the first congregation I served, an 86-year-old church matriarch I’ll call Margaret phoned me: “Pastor,” she said, “You mustn’t tell anyone—but, I’ve won the sweepstakes. I don’t know the exact amount, but it could be as much as ten million dollars. They will deliver a check to my door soon. I wanted to call you because I plan to tithe from the winnings, and I wanted you to be thinking about how the church could use the money.”

“Margaret, wow!” I exclaimed. “Did someone call you?”

“No,” she said. “I just keep getting these letters. I must have won—otherwise, why would they keep sending me these letters?”

Gulp. I went to her apartment the next day to see the letters. The large print looked like she had won but the small print was clear, she’d won nothing.

The following week, Margaret was so convinced that someone was coming to her house on Thursday morning at 10 a.m. to deliver a check that she invited my wife and me to come over. We went, not because I believed the sweepstakes check was coming but because I didn’t want her to be alone in her disappointment.

We sat with her for two hours, and when it became apparent that no one was delivering a check, I suggested that we go get some lunch at Ol’ North Carolina BBQ, her favorite. So, we went and had chopped pork barbeque, hush puppies, slaw and sweet tea. We laughed and talked of the Lord.

When we dropped her back at her apartment, I said, “Margaret, I’m concerned about you. Are you going to be OK? This is a big disappointment to face.”

I’ll never forget the look of peace on her face. This woman of God, who had buried a husband and a son, said: “Oh Pastor, I’ve faced many disappointments in my life, but the Lord has always been faithful. I’ll be just fine.”

And she was.

I realized that day if you were to win $10 million and had not love, you’d be a very poor person. But, if you lost a dream of $10 million but had great love, you’d be rich indeed. Jesus’s love heals every disappointment. And that’s the Gospel!

Questions for Reflection:

1) It is easy to feel disappointed, especially in the wake of a pandemic. Take a moment to hand your disappointments to Jesus; He cares.

2) The disciples on the Emmaus road walked with Jesus without knowing it. He is there even when it doesn’t look like it. What would it look like to start trusting Jesus’s presence in your life even when you can’t see Him?

3) 1 Corinthians 13 is famous when it comes to love. Many know the familiar words, but it is a much deeper commitment to believe them. “…if I have all faith, so as to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” Pray that God would let this passage seep into your soul in a new way.