Healing From DisappointmentSample

Have you ever been impatient or rude with a customer service representative? Sadly, I have. Several years ago, I ordered a special jersey in the weeks leading up to the championship football game in America. I wanted to have the jersey in time for the big game. Thinking I ordered it in time, I became frustrated with shipping delays. I spent time on the phone, using an online chat feature, and sending emails.

Eventually, I received an email that stated the website had "oversold" its supply of jerseys, and mine was never shipped. Though they promised a refund and offered a 10% discount on a future purchase, I was livid. Previously, I had been told my jersey had shipped and would arrive very soon. My impatience led me to lose my temper, and I wasted an embarrassing amount of time, angry and disappointed.

Though I am embarrassed by my impatience and lack of self-control over something unimportant, you may have a similar experience. Our world does not build our patience. Businesses profit heavily by nurturing our impatience. At the same time, we serve a God who seeks to bring the fruit of patience into our lives and sustain us as we wait for Him with hope and patience.

In Romans 8, Paul discusses the essence of hope. He notes that we hope for what we do not have. In other words, having something and hoping for it is impossible. He goes on to say that if we look forward to something, we hope for it and wait for it with patience. To hope for something is not yet to see it and wait for it to become visible.

So, what happens when what you're hoping for is delayed? Your answer depends on what the object of your hope is. If your hope rests on a person or an outcome, you may act unreasonably, as I did in the example above. No person, after all, is a worthy object of hope. Through failure, I've discovered that the strength of your hope is based upon the object of your hope. It's easier to wait with steadfast endurance when your hope rests on something substantial, like the faithful character of Christ.

We can find the strength to patiently wait for our hope's fulfillment as we lean into the Holy Spirit in our prayers. After describing patiently waiting for hope to be fulfilled, Paul spoke about how the Spirit helps us in our weakness. He indicated that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with deep groanings when we pray. One commentator I read noted that the tense of the words in the original language here indicates that the Spirit continually helps us in our weakness through this intercession before God.

Why would the Holy Spirit need to intercede for us like this continually? We may need this kind of prayer because we perpetually find ourselves overwhelmed and faced with our weaknesses. In the American church, people often say, "God won't give me more than I can handle." While this is a widespread belief, it does not reflect the stories of the saints in the Bible or my own experience. I've found that God will always give us more than we can handle because He never intended us to handle life alone.

Life can be profoundly disappointing and overwhelming. We react in ways that often lack patience and bring regret. However, God's grace is sufficient for us, and His power is made perfect in our weakness.

If you're struggling with hope or patience today, I encourage you not to try to be strong but to embrace your weakness and lean into the Holy Spirit for strength. You don't have to be strong because He is.

I'm excited to share the final day of this plan with you. We're going to dive even deeper into praying through disappointment. If you've ever struggled with prayer or wondered if prayer really worked, then what's coming has been written precisely for you!