The Missing Point in Disappointment
Disappointment comes in all shapes and sizes. I can get disappointed for the smallest of reasons, like when traffic is backed up or I take a bite of something that should satisfy my taste buds. Sometimes, I’m disappointed in places I’ve wanted to travel, and then other times, I get disappointed in the people around me. Odds are you have experienced the same. I take comfort in knowing that I’m not the only person that experiences disappointment.
The worst feeling of disappointment for me comes from the ones I love. It’s rare but it does happen. A couple of months ago, I experienced what I thought was just a tragic disappointment from my child. I won’t go into the details to protect the identity of said child. I only have two, so there’s a 50/50 chance you’ll get it right. I lost it. I mean, I totally lost it!!
After all was said and done, I was disappointed in the child, myself, and pretty much the world.
It’s in these times I go back to God’s word to seek solace and comfort. I thought about God.
Had God ever been disappointed?
Oh, yeah. Disappointed enough to wipe out the world except for one man and his family.
And the Lord said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people…. I am sorry I ever made them.” ~Genesis 6:7 {NLT}
After I read those words, I felt better. I wasn’t quite that disappointed. Wait. Backup. Why was God sorry He made man? The NIV translation uses the word regret instead of sorry. A synonym for disappoint is regret.
Then the people began to multiply on the earth, and daughters were born to them. The sons of God saw the beautiful women and took any they wanted as their wives. Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not put up with humans for such a long time, for they are only mortal flesh. …the Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. So the Lord was sorry He had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke His heart. ~Genesis 6:1-3, 5-6 {NLT}
(Wait a minute! I’ve read this so many times and what popped out was the way “daughters” were being treated. I could say so many things about this, there were so many things that ran through my head. So many things that apply to the current culture, society, and political climate. Not just in the world, but right here in the United States. I’m not going to go there because that wasn’t the point God wanted me to see.)
What breaks God’s heart is how I treat others.
That was my missed point in disappointment. My expectations get in the way of treating others how God wants me to treat them. The way to favor in God’s eyes is in the treatment of others. Noah found favor and maybe I can, too.
Jesus replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” ~Matthew 22:37-40 (NLT)
- The Missing Point in Disappointment - September 25, 2019
- You’re Invited - June 19, 2019
- Gloom, Despair & Agony on Me - April 10, 2019
Thanks for the insights, Laura. I love and hate when scripture shouts things at me that I haven’t seen before. But those hated moments are so often the ones we needed see, right? Ugh and Yippee at the same time! Thanks for encouraging me to keep open to the possibility of both!!