5 Biblical Truths When You Feel Disappointed
For weeks, I felt heartbroken and alone in my sorrow. I felt down and disappointed in the world and people close to me. I couldn’t fathom how the world could be filled with such coldness, hostility, and selfishness, and this time, it was personal. Was I the only one who cared? Was I alone in believing the things that I did?
I knew that I wasn’t completely alone. I had my husband and a couple of friends beside me, who understood exactly what I was going through and validated my thoughts and emotions. But I still ached in ways that I never had before. I grabbed a blanket, pulled it over my head, and never wanted to come out of my cocoon.
Why do we feel disappointed?
Have you ever felt so disappointed in the world that you just ache all over in ways that you never had before?
I call that kind of pain a soul ache. We were made to feel something deeper, something beyond ourselves. So when we witness unnecessary suffering in our world, our soul usually hurts. We just can’t comprehend why such pain exists.
Well, I’m here to tell you one cold, bitter truth, and remind you of a warm, amazing truth. Are you ready?
The cold, bitter truth is, time and time again, the world and people you know and love will disappoint you. It sucks, but it’s true. Romans 3:23 states “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” So we’re bound to run into disappointment in life. No one is perfect.
But the warm, sweet, amazing truth?
Even if no one else understands you, you’re never truly alone. God understands you completely, and He’s inviting you to come to Him so He can comfort your heart, tell you of His amazing promises, and heal your aching soul.
5 Biblical truths for when you’re feeling disappointed
Here are 5 things that God wants you to know when you feel disappointed:
1. There is a time to cry and a time to laugh.
Just so you know, it is perfectly okay to grieve. Even Jesus wept when he thought of all the lost souls in Jerusalem, and the future of the city. In times when I’m disappointed or upset, I look to Jesus. He had such compassion for God’s people, weeping, even giving his own life to save us from eternal Hell, and there were a couple of times when he was justifiably angry.
Jesus reminds me that my emotions are real and validated. It’s the thoughts and actions of my emotions that I need to be careful with, which is why I try to take it all to the Lord in prayer, which I’ll discuss momentarily. It’s okay to grieve, cry, and be disappointed in the world. When we grieve, scripture reminds us many times that God listens. He is our Healer, and when we surrender our pain to Him, He and He alone can heal our aching souls.
“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”
Psalm 24:18
“He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.”
Psalm 147:3
“God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
Matthew 5:4
But after a time of grief, there’s a time to dance, and God will always pick you back up. Psalm 30:5 reminds us that “Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.” Believe that joy will come, and allow joy to come. Don’t let your grief weigh you down and keep you in a hole of depression.
2. Pray and draw close to God.
Have an honest heart to heart conversation with God. Tell Him about your heartache and pain, and rest in Him and His everlasting peace.
“Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.”
Psalm 55:22
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7
Know that God said “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you (Hebrews 13:5).” He’s there, right alongside you. And with God by your side, who cares what the world thinks or does? He is your ultimate provider and shelter and stands beside you.
“What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?”
Romans 8:31
“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.”
Jeremiah 29:11-13
3. Surround yourself with wise counsel and friends.
While God is the one we should always run to first, and other humans are not always going to be there for you or understand (because we’re all humans that fall short of God’s glory), if you can, get around people who know God, know His Word, and uplift your spirits. Scripture talks often about the importance of wise friendships.
“As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.”
Proverbs 27:17
“Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.” –
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
“Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.”
Proverbs 13:20
“The godly give good advice to their friends; the wicked lead them astray.”
Proverbs 12:26
4. Don’t be a friend to the world
Another thing to think about as well, specifically when the world disappoints you and it seems as though so many are against you, remember this:
“You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.”
James 4:4
So take heart that you were not made to be friends with the world, so of course, the world may come against you. John 15:18-19 says “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.”
Another encouraging scripture:
“But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.”
1 John 4:4-6
5. Look past your circumstances and see the bigger picture.
It’s so easy to focus on the problems you’re dealing with at hand. Trust me, when I was depressed, all I could think about was my sorrow and the people involved. But we’ve got to look past ourselves and our problems and start looking at the bigger picture of things. We focus on the things that we see, not on what is unseen.
“That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
God’s plans are bigger than we could even imagine. So giving our time and energy to such earthly things that are going to disappoint anyone with a heart that follows God is pointless. Let God use you for His greater good.
1 Peter, chapter 1 is a good reminder of hope and God’s calling for us.
