“If we will be quiet and ready enough, we shall find compensation in every disappointment.” – Henry David Thoreau

“Disappointment isn’t proof that God is withholding good things from us.  It’s His way of leading us home.” – Iysa Terkeurst

“Where there is great disappointment, we don’t know if that’s the end of the story.  It may just be the beginning of a great adventure.” – Pema Chodron

We have all had our share of disappointments.  At times, they seem synonymous with life itself.  So many things can lie at the center of them – events that take us places we never intended to go, people we loved and trusted that let us down, or personal actions and decisions we made where we ourselves have become the greatest source of it in our lives.

Take a moment and think about your own – those that cut deep and those you may be experiencing currently.  What do you find at the center of them?  What drives this type of unhappiness and emotion?

The dictionary defines disappointment as “a sadness or displeasure caused by the nonfulfillment of one’s hopes and expectations.”  

Disappointments are birthed within the realm of personal hopes and expectations.  Each and every one of us desire that our hopes and dreams come to pass, but often we fail to see they rely upon a perfect sequence of events to unfold within an imperfect world, for flawed human beings to behave impeccably, and for our own faulty humanity to come up with picture-perfect aspirations.

 Could it be that within this context of imperfection, disappointments are inevitable?  When it comes to our personal expectations, what can we do or change to avoid disappointment?

“My soul, waits silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him.” – Psalm 62:5 NKJV

I love how this verse exemplifies the need to analyze the source of our hopes and expectations – taking them out of the hands of faulty circumstances, imperfect people, and our own flawed humanity and exchanging them for those driven by a perfect God.

Because of our flawed humanity, this is so difficult to do!  We want OUR life to turn out the way WE planned.  We want the relationship WE desire to flourish and succeed.  We want OUR hopes and dreams fulfilled. 

Wait silently for God alone?  Relinquish my own plans for His?  Don’t take action, but wait for things to unfold in His time?  Won’t giving up my own dreams and expectations be filled with deep disappointment as well?

It depends upon what you believe about God my friend and the conviction of those beliefs.

If we believe in a perfect, holy, loving God, then wouldn’t waiting on His ways be best?  Wouldn’t it make more sense to replace our own expectations with those He has in store for us?  Would placing our dreams in the hands of an all-knowing God, a God who sees the past, present, and future with detailed accuracy, lead to more success and happiness?  Does trusting a God who knows exactly how our lives will unfold seem logical and wise?

There is such power and promised strength behind waiting on God and His expectations for us!

“Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who hope in me will not be disappointed.”  – Isaiah 49:23 NIV

But what about the disappointment that comes with giving up our OWN plans and desired outcomes? 

Here is where GIVING UP our personal expectations and ACCEPTING everything that transpires is critical.  If we trust God with our expectations, then we must trust all that unfolds along the way, knowing the PERFECT outcome is inevitable.  I saw a quote from Lawrence Overmire that said, “Expect nothing and accept everything and you will never be disappointed.”

The Scriptures tell us to “consider it all joy” (James 1:2), to not be “anxious about anything” (Philippians 4:6), and to “be thankful in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18) – accepting the good and bad as they unfold – trusting that God is at the center of both when we hand over our expectations to Him.

You see my friend, we cannot “be thankful in all circumstances” when we place our hope in circumstances that were crafted and manipulated by ourselves and others.  We cannot “consider it all joy” when we place our dreams and desires in the hands of imperfect people.  Most importantly, we simply cannot “be anxious about anything” when we strictly rely on our own flawed humanity for perfect direction, precise timing, and complete happiness.

But those crooked places, those unanticipated setbacks, and those seasons of hardship that come as a result of giving up our expectations to God are a PART OF THE PERFECT PLAN 😊  We can easily accept their presence in our life as a part of a grander, purposeful, destined plan – knowing that He is in the driver’s seat.

So those disappointments you recalled earlier, the greatest ones you’ve faced or are facing now, what was at the center of those unfulfilled expectations?  Did they rely on fickle circumstances, imperfect people, or your own flawed reasoning?

Allow all you expect from life to originate with God – waiting on His expectations for you.  As you give up your way for His, accept all that unfolds as a part of that perfect plan – having confidence that both the good and the bad have meaningful purpose for you and others.

If you do my friend, you will never be disappointed again 😊

God bless!