We had been married for only one month and I was eager to celebrate our first Christmas traveling home to visit family. But my visions of cozy fireside conversations and restful days spent baking turned to stressful striving as we ran ourselves ragged. Trying to navigate the expectations of our separate families proved to be emotionally exhausting and downright disappointing. See, I’m a woman who dreamt about feeling secure in a “whole” family for as long as I can remember because I was three years old when my parents divorced. For years I packed my tiny Barbie suitcase, tearfully leaving one house and one parent for another. For years I’ve had tearful conversations with my husband discouraged by the endless effects of family circumstances on my life. Disappointment did not vanish once I got married.
“It isn’t supposed to be this way,” I told him one night as he comforted me. “It all feels so … broken.”
Yes, our circumstancesfeel broken because our worldis broken. As we wrestle with our own disappointing circumstances in life, we can be pinned by despair, sorrow, and anger. We groan under the weight of sin that has marred creation.
In the Bible we read there is only One who is able to lift our heads and shield our souls (Ps. 3:3). His name is Jesus. Long before disappointment would enter our lives, God had a plan for Christ to bind up its gaping wounds and make beauty from its ashes (Is. 61:1–3).
Jesus came to earth as Emmanuel, lived as the Light of the world, died as the Lamb of God, and was resurrected as the King of glory. The fullness of God in flesh began to counteract the curse of sin in the world. Blossoms of blessings uprooted thorns of sin. Just as “Joy to the World” extols:
No more let sin and sorrow grow
Nor thorns infest the ground:
He comes to make his blessings flow
Far as the curse is found.
But as sojourners on earth anticipating the fulfillment of God’s kingdom, we’re still subject to disheartening circumstances, and disappointment will still hurt. In Scripture, Jesus reminds his disciples: “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33b).
Jesus desires his people to let disappointment drive them to overwhelming hope, not despair. Disappointment shows us that the world is broken. It reminds our hearts they are made to rest in the hope only God provides. Often, we need to shift our hope from sandy ground that gives way beneath us to the solid rock we can stand upon. Circumstances change; people fail us; the world does not satisfy.
When I place my trust in temporary comforts rather than in Christ, I risk slipping into despair. But by clinging to Jesus, saturating my mind with Scripture, and burying my heart in prayer, I find I have a “sure and steadfast anchor of [my] soul”(Heb. 6:19).
But how do we fight disillusionment caused by the “what ifs” or “whys” of life? We make a commitment to contentment. Contentment will not rule our hearts through self-actualization or creating the life we want. Contentment comes by total surrender to God’s will through trust and obedience. Can we view our disappointments as gifts from God to keep us dependent on him and reveal more of his character to us?
Listen to what Paul has to say: “… for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me”(Phil. 4:11b–13). The secret to contentment is Christ’s power working in me, not my circumstances working for me. As long as I idolize my own security, I will be derailed by disappointment. With Jesus as Lord of my life, I have the comfort of true hope that cannot be defeated!
You do not know what the next year, day, or even hour may hold, but you serve a God who upholds the universe by his powerful word. He loves you with an everlasting love and pursues you daily with goodness and mercy. He willstrengthen and sustain you for all he has portioned you.
Maybe right now you’re walking through your days burdened by circumstances. Perhaps you’re dealing with unmet expectations, rejection, suffering, or grieving loss. This role, this season, this life has not turned out as you imagined and you want to hold up the broken pieces and cry out, “It isn’t supposed to be this way!”
You’re right, dear sister. But there is one Way, one Truth, and one Life who will restore all of our brokenness one day. The same Savior who bore the disappointments of the world on his back upon the cross will return in blinding glory. With compassion Christ will gather his own and “he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away”(Rev. 21:3b–4).
On that day our hope will become fulfilled in the blink of an eye. Our disappointments in this life will give way to perfect delight when we see Jesus face to face.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION/ APPLICATION:
How are you currently experiencing the disappointment of a broken world? How might you be tempted within this situation to rest your hope on “sandy ground” or “temporary comforts”?
When you are experiencing disappointing circumstances, how can you use prayer and Scripture to “take heart” in Jesus? What are some practical habits or changes you can make to commit to contentment?
Read Philippians 4:11–13 again. Paraphrase it using your own disappointments and circumstances and keep it as a reminder of where your strength comes from.
Hannah Waddell is grateful wife to Robert and mama to Gracie, James and William. She gets to experience the glory of God in the best of ways raising her babes by the beach living right outside of Charleston, SC. Hannah's simple joys include cooking with her husband (he taught her!), Octobers, slow coffee mornings, outdoor picnics, and arranging flowers in her local small business Lily & Vine Florals. Hannah’s writings are found mostly in the margins of her Bible or on Instagram but she has also been published by Deeply Rooted magazine and blog. She considers her family God's greatest gift to her and seeks to serve and love them in ways that reflect the heart of Jesus. Soli Deo Gloria!