Overcoming Disappointments

Everyone knows disappointment sooner or later. Friends break their word, marriages end in divorce, our children move away, colleagues betray us, the company lays us off, doctors, can’t cure us, our investments disappear, our dreams are shattered, the best-laid plans go astray, other Christians disappoint us, and very often, we disappoint ourselves. We live in a world of disappointment, and if we don’t come to grips with this truth, we are doomed to be unhappier tomorrow than we are today. John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the U.S. wrote in his diary: “My life has been spent in vain and idle aspirations”. We all want to do something, we all make certain assumptions and have expectations about life. But if those expectations are not met, we are disappointed. There is a strong correlation between good mental health and having assumptions that match reality. And there is a high correlation between misplaced assumptions and having a variety of emotional problems, including depression. Put simply, we are disappointed when things don’t go the way we thought they were going to go. Wrong expectations lead to disappointment, and disappointment leads to despair.

Now, with all that said. Don’t let your discouragement keep you from doing what you know you have to do in life. If you can’t follow the big plan, follow the small one. If you can’t see ten steps into the future, then take two or three steps. Or just take the next step in front of you. I posted on facebook last week this quote from John Maxwell. “The smallest act of obedience is better than the greatest intention” You know, he is right. Better to do a little than sit around dreaming about doing a lot. If you cannot obey God in some grand gesture, then obey Him in the small things of life. Do what you know needs to be done and do it for the glory of God.