We have all had disappointment in our lives. Something that doesn’t work out like we thought it would or should. Lately, I have been struggling with this one. There are some things in my life that I thought would turn out differently than they did. To be honest, I am disappointed. I thought that this thing or that thing should have happened by now, but it hasn’t. I ask God, “why have You not done this thing that You promised You would do?” I get impatient and wonder if it will ever happen. I get frustrated and annoyed that I have had to go through certain things that seem to have no point. Why did I have to suffer this thing, is there any point?

I am home with my littlest boy today who has a cold, so I watched some preaching online. I really felt like God wanted to speak to my disappointment today. So, I turn on this program and the preacher is preaching on Matthew 11. You can read it for yourselves, but I will give you the Reader’s Digest version. It’s about when John the Baptist is in prison at the end of his life. He has baptized Jesus and told everyone that Jesus is the Messiah they have been waiting for. He had this amazing ministry and at the end of it all he finds himself in prison and he is disappointed. He asks Jesus “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”. He knew Jesus was who He said he was, but John is having a moment of doubt and disappointment with how his life has turned out. John doesn’t think he is doing any good while in prison.

I am listening to this sermon and thinking, “yay, God is going to speak to my disappointment in this certain situation in my life”. I am eager to hear Him say what I want to happen will soon be on its way, or some such encouraging thing. I expect Him to tell me how I can fix this situation and make what I want to happen. But God does not work as I want, most of the time. You know what Jesus says to John? “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: ⁵ The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy^[b] are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. ⁶ Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.” Huh? What in the world does that have to do with what John, or I, was asking? Well, the preacher pointed out that Jesus was saying to John that it isn’t about John, it’s about Jesus. Everything that happened to John, and the fact that he was now in prison was all apart of God’s plan. Jesus goes on to tell the crowd, not John, that he was proud of John, and John was doing great things, and all this good stuff about him. But what He tells John is that it’s not about you.

That is not what I wanted to hear. I’ll be honest. As I reflect on it though, it is what was needed. I have been moaning and complaining about promises that God has made and has yet to fulfill. Wow, as I type that I sound like a spoiled child. I am being impatient and whinny. Everyone around me has what I want and I don’t! Boohoo! But what I realize is that it’s not about me. God is doing what He is doing for reasons I cannot see. I have to take my eyes off my situation, and myself, and realize that He has a plan and I need to be patient and wait on that plan. In addition to that, there are so many things I have that I am not being grateful for, while I whine about what I don’t have. I am trying to focus on those and hold on to His promises for tomorrow.

What things are you disappointed about in your life? Something that didn’t work out like you thought it would or hasn’t happened yet. Is it a child you long to have, a job that you have not gotten yet, a relationship that is estranged, financial burdens, or something else? It’s okay to be disappointed, we are human. But we must focus on what we do have and realize God has a greater purpose. It’s not about us anyway.