E256 - Faith, Hope, Love

Overcoming Disappointment – How God helps us overcome disappointment
Pastor Mike Connell
05 July 08

Luke 4:18

God's Priorities
God’s first priority is to bring us back to him physically, to respond to his love after hearing of his love.

His second priority is to restore and heal the broken hearted.

His third priority is to bring deliverance to the captives, those who were bound by unclean and demonic spirits.

Jesus came to fulfill all the 3 priorities. The same Jesus that did the same things years ago is the same today. Mark 1:40. Even though Jesus had the anointing to do all that, we still have to have the faith in Him. Something is always required of us.

What is Disappointment
Luke 24:
You only get disappointed if you are expecting something good to happen and it does not to happen. Or when you were not expecting something bad to happen and it happens.

Disappointment is part of life. So you need to know how to deal with it. Daniel experienced a great disappointment – he lost everything and his friends wanted to kill him, but he dealt with it.

忍
The Chinese word for endure is the word for the knife over the heart. So the Chinese way of dealing with disappointment is to knife it down and keep it inside the heart locked away. Biblical perseverance is not the same – Let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us. This kind of perseverance is positive, not negative like the Chinese way where you bury your grief, your bitterness and your anger. Those negative emotions are buried and still there. God’s way is for the broken heart to be healed. If you have been hurt, you come to the Lord and get healing.

When David went to his hometown, he was disappointed. But the man of war wept. God has given us emotions to express. Emotions are not meant to control us, but they are an expression of our soul. Mark 3:4-5 God expresses His feelings openly. Jesus was also an extremely emotional person. God is passionate. And He created us to be like Him, so emotions are part of us, not something restrictive.

You are not called to follow the culture of the world (e.g. the Chinese way of dealing with disappointment).

When people are disappointed, they protect themselves from disappointment. This is why people form ungodly beliefs – All men are evil etc.

Luke 24:13, 20
The disciples had committed their lives to follow Jesus Christ. They had wrong expectations as to what it would be like to follow Him. So, after 3 years, it’s all over and there is no Jesus any more. Imagine how disappointed they were!

Things that disappointed people tend to do

Disappointed people find people who were also disappointed and fellowship around their disappointment. A disappointed person can’t help you out of your disappointment!
V15. They start reasoning – Why does this happen to me? Disappointments are opportunities for growth, in character and faith. You choose whether to rise up over disappointments or let disappointment overwhelm you. You can ask God many questions and He won’t answer you – Ask: ‘God, this has happened to me, how should I deal with it?’ instead of ‘Why me?’
When disappointment is overrunning in your life, you get blinded and you shut down your heart from reaching out to the Lord. There is a spiritual withholding of what Jesus was to do when the disciples experienced disappointment.
Whatever is in your heart will show in your eyes and your face. When disappointment is in people’s life, you can see it in their posture and their face.
The disciples were leaving Jerusalem – where God has called us to, for the place of comfort. When disappointment is ruling your life, you began to draw back from serving God to where you feel better – In alcohol, in gaming, shopping, eating etc. You try to comfort the pain instead of seeking the comforter, the Lord who will help you overcome it! Often, in the beginning of your work in the Lord, you have to pay a price. You pay in the beginning, but then you see the fruits of the Lord increasing in your life after that.

How Jesus dealt with the disciples’ disappointment

Jesus drew near to the disciples. So, we need to draw near to God.
When you listen to people talk, it reveals the things in their hearts. He made them face the feelings in the things they were talking about. What’s going on in your life that is causing you to feel so sad? Jesus began to draw out the disciples’ feelings.
Jesus reminded the disciples about God, and then faith began to arise in the disciples’ hearts. Their disappointment has been completely overturned!

How we can deal with disappointment

When you are disappointed, you need to come to the presence of God.
You need to face the reality of what has happened. You need to admit that someone has disappointed us. What is it that has disappointed you. Bring out what has happened.
Ask yourself, ‘how is this affecting me?’ Talk about it to the Lord, express your feelings to Him. Psalms 42. People can’t get healed unless they face what happened to them and be honest how they really felt and how you react to it. If you become resentful, that is your resentment. All these reactions, you are responsible for them and they affect your futures. In your heart, you need to forgive them. When you come before the Lord, you need to release forgiveness to the people who have hurt you.
You need to refocus our attention to the Lord and His word. Luke 24:32. Mediate on his word and his promise. That is when our heart will began to burn and be restored again. God loves us and He wants to heal us.

You don’t have to stay that way, Jesus came to free us from that. Talk to Him, face what happened, grief over it and let the emotions go, repent of how you have reacted to it, then ask the Lord how you can move on. God can only speak to us when our hearts are open to Him. Your memories don’t go away, they only get stored away. Ask God to remind you of the disappointments in your life so that you can set yourself free from them.

- wei (很快就要回来了！哈哈）I will be attending a local church (in Shanghai with my friends) next weekend and will be back the following weekend. So until then, ciao!