I”VE BEEN THINKING “Being Disappointed”

15th April 2012

Romans 5:5. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (NIV)

You have this great friend who you know and trust.  They would never put you in the situation of letting you down. However, unfortunately, the day arrived when they did just that. 

There are several ways in which we react to disappointment.  The first one you most likely will take is anger and revenge.  They hurt you so much you reckon you will even the score by hurting them back. After all is said and done, it always makes us feel a lot better when someone else cops it in return. 

The second most likely reaction is withdrawal.  You are not interested in smacking them on the nose, but then you can’t stand being in the same place as them.  Therefore you back away and run, putting your head in a hole in the ground to hide your disappointment. The Readers Digest ran a story many years ago about an exceptional woman called Lillian Dickson.  She mentioned such a disappointment. “There was heartache in my life as my trust was betrayed by a partner.  My experience as a school teacher says, ‘Off with their heads!’ and be done with it.  My experience as a missionary says, ‘When people fail ….. don’t leave them. Help them back to their feet again and set them on the right path.’”   

Lillian Dickson’s last word leads us to a third reaction – restoration. When a good person falls, don’t clap with joy.  You can almost bet that if they have failed, then many smaller and weaker folk will be hurt also.

Don’t get on the bandwagon and rejoice when someone that you particularly admired falls.  Don’t jump all over them with joy.  You don’t have to be particularly clever or intelligent to see the wrongs in other folk’s lives, on the other hand, it takes a person with the grace of God to forgive and then help to restore them.

To Ponder

Your best friend lets you down.  How do you react to the disappointment?

Written by John Gummer – Idea taken from Today can be the Best Day – Harold J Sala