We have all experienced disappointments; desires that have not been fulfilled. Is it better not to hope to avoid disappointment? No, hope is an essential force in our lives. Disappointments should not stop us, but rather lead us to make some adjustments.
The Bible tells many stories of broken hope, of unfulfilled dreams. These stories comfort us by showing us that we are not alone in this situation. Stories where people placed their faith in God and their hope in a better future. They even relied on the Word of God and waited for the fulfillment of that hope. But time passes, and nothing comes to pass. For the disciples on the road to Emmaus, their hope had even died on a cross. “But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened” (Luke 24:21 NKJV). Their hope for deliverance was dead. So they were on the road back. A return to their old life.
As single people, we believed in the promises of marriage. We had faith in God and the hope of a different life. Then, we celebrate our 40th, our 50th birthdays, and still nothing. Or we meet a charming single man and imagine spending the rest of our lives with him, only for him to leave us. Or perhaps we believed the promises of financial prosperity preached by a pastor, and the only abundance we know is an abundance of bills. We confessed the verses about healing with hope and conviction, and yet our beloved still died of their illness.
Were we wrong to believe? Did we commit an unforgivable sin that cut us off from God’s favor? Is the Word of God a reliable source? We might even question whether God truly exists. The disciples on the road to Emmaus surely felt the same disappointment, sadness, and incomprehension. And like them, our first reaction to disappointment is often to return to our old life. Peter went back to fishing, the very trade he had abandoned to follow Christ (John 21:2-14). Even the Israelites, who still hadn’t seen the Promised Land after several years in the desert, were thinking of returning to Egypt. “We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes” (Numbers 11:5-6 NKJV).
This desire to go back is natural, but it’s not the solution. Faced with disappointment and shattered hope, Jesus invites us instead to renew our relationship with Him. He didn’t leave the disciples on the road to Emmaus in their sadness; He spent special time with them. Over a meal, Jesus readjusted their hopes. He explained His perfect plan to them again. That is exactly what we should do when we are disappointed. First and foremost, pour out our sadness to Jesus, and then listen to His explanations.
Why did we dream of marriage? To avoid being alone? Perhaps God has another way of meeting our relational needs. Or perhaps God wants to use our singleness to enable us to serve where married people cannot go (1 Corinthians 7:32-33). Why did we hope for financial prosperity? Perhaps it was to satisfy a selfish desire. By using our disappointment to shed light on our intentions, we will discern God’s perfect plan. What if God wanted to show His goodness and support by being present with us in the fire instead of putting it out (Daniel 3:25)? Sometimes, we are so focused on our own solution that we no longer see God’s active hand.
God doesn’t want us to stop hoping to avoid disappointment. Hope is a force that propels us forward, that compels us to work on our character. Faith is believing that God is able; hope is putting our efforts into making a dream come true. Like when we plant tomato seedlings in a vegetable garden. Our hope of making excellent tomato sauce motivates us to water and weed (1 Corinthians 9:10).
Disappointments shouldn’t stop us from hoping. They are simply an invitation to restore our relationship with God, to return to what is essential (Philippians 4:11), to look to the supernatural and to the spiritual strength that our hope has developed. “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13 NKJV). Hope is a risk, but it is also the perfect way to let God shape our character for the fulfillment of His perfect plan.