Isaiah 49:23
… those who hope in me will not be disappointed.
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I’ll bet you have been disappointed by God. I know I have been. So how can this passage be true? While I was trying to figure that out I realized I was focusing on only one side of the passage – the”will not be disappointed” side. Maybe the answer lies in the other half of the passage.
To never be disappointed everything that comes my way will have to be wonderful, at least as good and perhaps better than I was expecting. Of course, that is not the way life is. Everyone, believers and the lost, suffer hardship, grief, loss, shattered dreams. So how can this promise, from the very lips of God, be true? When I focused on the other end of the passage – “those who hope in me” – I made an amazing discovery.
I get disappointed when things turn out less than I expected. If a dad promises to take his child to the neighborhood park but then did not do so because he takes him to Disneyland instead the child will not be disappointed even though it was not what he expected.
If my hope is in God then I am trusting that whatever He sends my way is the absolute best for me — even if it is not what I was expecting (hoping for). My hope is in God, not going to the park but being with the Father at the neighborhood park or at Disneyland. I am delighted either way because I am with the Father and that was my hope, not the park. Make sense?
I realized disappointment is a red flag signaling me I have been looking for my joy, peace, fulfillment, whatever, in something other than the Lord. And that will always lead to disappointment. If, however, my hope is in God then I rejoice whatever comes my way – neighborhood park or stay at home – because I know God has chosen what is the best for me. Remember, God’s will is exactly what you would choose for yourself … if you knew all the facts.
If my hope is in Him, I will never be disappointed because I know that whatever comes my way is the ultimate best for me. Disappointment becomes a friend that reminds me that my hope has been misplaced. I need to refocus my hope, my dreams, my desires and make sure they are all solidly planted in Him. Then I will not be disappointed.
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Job 13:15
Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him;
This is beautiful…and true. Expecting, and having that expectation go unfulfilled is a common cause of bitterness, grief, conflict, and emotional pain. When we expect the God of the Universe and Creator of all things to act according to what WE know, we will be disappointed. Love the line “God’s will is exactly what you would choose for yourself … if you knew all the facts.” A.W. Pink wrote: Were it in anywise possible for something to occur apart from either the direct agency or permission of God, then that something would be independent of Him, and He would at once cease to be Supreme.
Just as I use “I would have expected…” or “I expect you to …” to signal that I am overlaying my expectation upon someone who may be unable or unwilling to grant me satisfaction, your check point using the word “disappointment” can enlighten us to returning to our true source of peace and comfort, the God of All Comfort.
“My hope is in God, not going to the park but being with the Father at the neighborhood park or at Disneyland.”
…OR in the valley if the shadow of death…ANYWHERE He leads me.
Cat, are you saying you would rather be a lowly servant in the house of God than the owner of a fancy home without the Lord? Or, if you had to choose, one day with God or a thousand days somewhere wonderful but without Him, that you would choose one day with Him?
Psalm 84:10
Well, that’s just crazy talk. 🙂