Disappointment is more than a feeling – It’s a direction
- Leads you on a path
This is important because our series is called “LOST”
- A WAY out of the wilderness
A WILDERNESS SEASON IS WHERE WE LEARN WHO GOD IS, HOW HE LOVES US, AND HOW WE SHOULD INTERACT WITH HIM
Part of this learning is learning HOW to handle Disappointment
- Especially disappointment with God
What is disappointment?
Disappointment happens when my expectations are not aligned with my real-time experiences
Disappointment is magnified in “WILDERNESS” season because we are already stressed/worried/anxious/frustrated
“When God’s timing seems questionable, his lack of intervention seems hurtful, and his promises seem doubtful, I get afraid. I get confused. And left alone with those feelings, I can’t help but feel disappointed that God isn’t doing what I assume a good God should do.” ~ Lysa Terkeurst
This is exactly where some of you are right now—disappointed with God:
- You keep praying, but he keeps ignoring you.
- All your friends are getting married right now, but you aren’t.
- You asked him to heal, but instead, your loved one got worse.
- You busted your butt in the off-season, but someone else got the starting position.
- You’re killing yourself trying to make rent and feed kids, but prayer isn’t paying the bills.
- You’ve done everything right in parenting, yet your kids aren’t turning out like you hoped. . . or maybe God isn’t giving you the kids you long for in the first place.
And you’re like, “God, I don’t understand! How can this be your perfect plan? How can this be good? God, I had dreams but all you’ve left me with are disappointments.”
The Problem with disappointment is that it’s NOT just a FEELING, it’s a DIRECTION…
Disappointment Directed Decisions
Examples:
Disappointed in a previous relationship, so you overcompensate in the next one
- Overly Jealous
- Overly Controlling
Disappointed with yourself, so you second guess or push yourself too hard
- Never have any joy
Disappointed in how you were raised, so you choose to either over-control or passively parent
Disappointed in your life, so you look for someone to blame
What we must know:
Disappointment in life is unavoidable, but how we handle it matters and the story the Bible is telling has a lot to say about that…
Catching the story up to this point
- Freed the people from Egypt
- Led them through the Red Sea
- God has fed the people in the desert
- Manna
- Quail
- God has given them victory over some enemies
- Taken them to Mount Sinai
- Gives them the 10 Commandments
- Moses goes up the mountain to hear from God
- Gone for about 40 days
Exodus 32
1 When the people saw that Moses delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Come, make gods for us who will go before us because this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him!”
1: Disappointment Leads you to FORGET
They forgot what ALL God has already done for them
What all had God done for them:
- Fed them
- Led them
- Gave them water
- Freed them from the greatest empire
But as soon as Moses was gone a little too long, they FORGOT
- What God had commanded
- What his purpose for them was as His people
Disappoint causes us to come down with…
Spiritual Amnesia
How do we handle disappointment?
Remembering that…
GOD IS FAITHFUL
2 Thessalonians 3:3
3 But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
1 John 1:9
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Forgetfulness is not Disappointment’s only problem…
2: Disappointment Leads you to DESIRE CONTROL
- This God Yahweh is uncontrollable, different, and scary
- Let’s make a God we can SEE, TOUCH, and FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE WITH
“Come, make gods for us who will go before us…”
Since Adam and Eve, we have either been trying to BE LIKE GOD or MAKE OUR OWN GODS
You may be thinking…
We would NEVER make a God of our own…
- We literally do it ALL THE TIME
What is “god” (The idea of)
And Ideal that gives purpose, meaning, and direction
That Means…
What God values is valuable, and what he doesn’t value is not valid
A positive example of this…
“Because humanity is made in the Image of God, then ALL human life is Valuable – From the beginning of life to the end
A negative example of this…
My Jesus loves EVERYONE
- Don’t Judge, Love is love, love wins, God created me this way,
My Jesus is a PATRIOT
- Law and order over alone.. No mercy, Might makes right, Judgement, and religion
The reason these stories are SO IMPORTANT is because the Bible is telling us a very important story…
The story the Bible is telling is any God we make in our own image to control is no God at all but just a fake, sad attempt to control our own lives, which always ends in our own destruction
Disappointments last problem direction is…
3: Disappointment Leads you BACK into captivity
Exodus 32
2 Aaron replied to them, “Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off the gold rings that were on their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took the gold from them, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it into an image of a calf. Then they said, “Israel, these are your gods, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!”
Let’s follow the Logical Flow
Disappoint makes us:
- Forget – Giving us the freedom to…
- Desire Control – Gives us the insane idea that
- Where we came from is better than where God is leading us Back to captivity
False gods, whatever they are or whatever they look like, don’t give us freedom; they only make us slaves
What do I mean by CAPTIVITY?
Back to patterns of Sin that Jesus has freed us from
- Patterns of broken thinking
- Patterns of Worry/stress/fear
- Patterns of Selfishness and greed
- Patterns of hate and violence
- Patterns of bitterness and unforgiveness
Don’t go back to those things
- This is the ONLY PLACE disappointment leads
Finishing the Story…
- God sees what the Israelites had done
- His anger burns against them – As it should
- Moses goes before God and begs for mercy
- God does not destroy them
This is a PICTURE of the gospel
- We deserve God’s wrath – Instead, he offers salvation
- But we HAVE SINNED. We acted Like his ENEMIES
- Any enemy of a perfect and powerful God should be destroyed
But the Gospel says this…
Romans 5:8
God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
- On our worst day
- While serving false God/ideas
That’s the God of the Bible
- That the God who created you
Disappoint is Inevitable
- We will all experience it
But don’t let disappoint direct you, instead let the TRUST of God be your guide
Psalm 119
97 How I love your instruction! It is my meditation all day long.
98 Your command makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is always with me.
99 I have more insight than all my teachers because your decrees are my meditation.
100 I understand more than the elders because I obey your precepts.
101 I have kept my feet from every evil path to follow your word.
102 I have not turned from your judgments, for you yourself have instructed me.
103 How sweet your word is to my taste— sweeter than honey in my mouth.
104 I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every false way.
105 Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.