The Temple Mount with the adjacent cemeteries and closed Eastern Gate (Golden Gate)

Disappointment.

This morning my middle son and I, along with a bus load of others, were to begin a much-anticipated trip to Israel. This past weekend, we had to cancel the trip. On Monday of this week, the rest of the group had to cancel when the Israeli government said all people flying into Israel either had to have a private home where they could self-quarantine for fourteen days or the visitors would be turned back at the border. This meant that the rest of our group would be turned back. Therefore, none of us left today on what for many would be a trip of a lifetime!

Disappointments happen. In your life right now there may be many types and kinds of disappointments. Financial. Vocational. Relational. The list could go on and on.

How do we trust God in the midst of disappointment?

Trusting God’s Plan

When Israel went into Babylonian captivity, Jeremiah sent them a letter. They were no doubt disappointed. They faced tough days. God wanted them to know something very important: God’s plan rules. Even though they did not know the plan, even though they were disappointed, even though they were being told something much different by the culture around them, God still ruled. Jeremiah wrote:

11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:11-13)

In other words, God said, “For I know what I have planned for you.” The individual people did not know, but God did. God knew what was part of His plan. He told them in the verses just prior to these, live life even in the midst of disappointment as normal as possible and let God work through His plan in the midst of it.

God gave a similar promise to Israel through Isaiah while in captivity. He said:

3 You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
4 Trust in the Lord forever,
For in Yah, the Lord, is everlasting strength. (Isaiah 26:3-4)

God promises to His people again to take care of them, protect them, and provide for them. Their responsibility simply was to trust Him.

Today, God is equally in charge. His plan still rules. We do not know all the particulars of our circumstances, just as they did not know all the particulars in theirs. However, God rules. You can trust Him even in the midst of disappointment.

Trusting God’s Provisions

God provides us help in the midst of our disappointments. Our disappointments do not rule – unless we let them. Our circumstances simply produce the context of our worship of God. A person’s circumstances only rule them when they are allowed to do so. Let me remind you of a couple of key areas of help.

Power for Endurance

The Bible communicates many ways in which God provides us power to endure. Consider this truth:

13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)

9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. (Galatians 6:9)

Great news for all of us in the midst of disappointment – God provides for us. He gives us the power to endure without being overtaken in sin. Yes, we can be disappointed; however, the disappointment does not rule us. Instead, we can endure and persevere.

Prayer for Endurance

Not only does God provide us the power to endure even in the midst of disappointment, but through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, He intercedes for us. As they say in the country, smack dab in the middle of disappointment, you are not alone. Instead, even when you do not know how to pray, the Spirit prays for you.

11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. … 26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:11, 26-27)

The Holy Spirit intercedes for us in the midst of our weaknesses. In our disappointment as we seek to pray, we often search for words, wish we knew what was next, and fumble along in a fog as it were. However, not the Spirit. The Spirit intercedes for us. As disappointed people we pray or at least try to pray. We know what we wanted. In fact, we did not get what we wanted. However, in the background of our prayers and in the foreground of the throne of God, the Spirit prays for us as He knows the mind of the Lord.

Grace for Endurance

God provides us grace to endure. Be encouraged in these final two passages. Speaking of Christ, the writer of Hebrews reminds us:

17 Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted. (Hebrews 2:17-18)

14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16)

Jesus graciously provides us grace from the throne of grace. He provides us mercy and grace that helps in our time of need. He understands our plight. In fact, He came and lived in this world which provides Him our exact perspective.

Isn’t it easy to believe that you know what is best for you more than God? Do you find that your plan seems better than God’s plan? When we think these things, we often forget the simplest truth and promise…go to God for grace and mercy. Trust Him rather than your own plan and self. Ask for what only He can provide you in the midst of your disappointment.

Today, in Your Disappointment

If you, like my son and I, face disappointment, trust God. God provides grace, mercy, help, and power to endure faithfully. We do not have to let our disappointment rule us. Is it easy to do so? Of course. But God.

Pray. Depend upon God. Trust His plan. Pray some more. Live in honor of Him even in the midst of disappointment.

Getting his passport as we prepared to travel to Israel for 10 days

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