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Disappointments
November 10, 2012

Last week, we learned that personal attacks are one of the challenges we face in life. Another challenge that people face especially after an election season as it is in the United States is the challenge of overcoming disappointments. Only one of the candidates can win, and when the candidate who wins is not the person you wanted to win, you might be disappointed. Disappointments are something we will face throughout life, and the sooner we learn about disappointments and how to overcome these, the better our life will be. Let's take a look at disappointment from the Bible's perspective to see how we can improve our life, and one of these first concepts we need to learn is that some disappointments come because we don't seek advice from others.

Proverbs 15:22
Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.

Many have great ideas, and few of these ideas become great. Most new businesses fail within a few years because it takes more than just a great idea to make something great. There are those who seek world peace, and yet the world remains at conflict. There are those who want to change something about their life, and never manage to make it happen. In the world of sports, there are some teams who are contenders for the championship, and always come up short. Not all great ideas are successful because some who plan, only consider their own viewpoint. When planning for the future, it is always safer to include the viewpoints of others you trust, because they may have more thoughts about your idea than you do. These people may see your idea as good or as bad, or they may see your idea as something that can be done easier or better. Different people can look at the same thing, and still see something different. So, one key to avoiding and working through disappointment is to seek the advice of others. That's smart, because not everyone can think of everything. The most important advice to seek is God's advice and we need to find out what God thinks about something before jumping in. Now, you are not going to read in the Bible what God thinks about a particular idea or business concept, but what we can learn from the Bible is the need to trust God and seek his righteousness first, and if we do this, we will have fewer disappointments to face.

Matthew 6:25-34
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

You see, disappointments come because we thought something was going to happen, and it didn't. Thinking about what is going to happen is a normal part of being human and what Jesus is showing us in this passage is who we need to trust. If we trust ourselves and rely on ourselves in the absence of God, we will be disappointed, because nobody can think with the same awareness as God can think. God is all-knowing and there is no person who can claim that. Everyone has limitations to his or her abilities and this means everyone can only know a little especially when compared to God. Instead of focusing on material things which fade away, we are encouraged to focus on the spirit by seeking first the Kingdom of God had his righteousness, and then all of these things will be added to us, and with these verses we are given the spiritual key to avoiding disappointment. "But wait," you might argue. "If on the one hand we are to seek counsel from others, and on the other hand we are to seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, don't these contradict each other?" And the answer is you could have a contradiction. It comes down totrust. Do you trust God or do you trust man?

Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

It is normal to bounce ideas off of other people to see if they like it or not or if they have any room for improvement. The ultimate test as to whether we should move forward with an idea is when God likes the idea, and the only way for us to do this is to trust in God with our entire heart instead of trusting ourselves. By doing this, we establish God in our life as a counselor and friend, whom we can trust and rely on, and when we do this and seek the Kingdom of God and God's righteousness first, we know that God will establish our needs and even our desires in life. Our life will be blessed and we will see this as a gift from God by placing our trust in God rather than ourselves. By trusting in God first, seeking the Kingdom of God and his righteous, and bouncing ideas off of others, we are more likley to achieve what we set out to do and less likely to be disappointed when we celebrate what is good, embrace what is good, and do what is good.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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