Bible Verses About Disappointment - When Things Don’t Go How You Hoped
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How do we respond when life is full of let downs, and things don’t go how we had hoped or planned? Are there Bible verses about disappointment that we can look to in these moments for help and comfort?
There are!
I am no stranger to disappointment. I almost feel predisposed to it. I have this vivid imagination that romanticizes EVERYTHING. I am talking food to relationships to experiences. I build things up so high I am often left with a sense of disappointment when things don’t live up to my crazy expectations.
A couple weeks ago Mike and I went to Target. Now every time I go there, I look forward to a coke icee. We parade over to the cafe, and that little red light of death was glowing on the coke icee dispenser. This was the third time in a row. Mike said he was sorry they weren’t working again, and I surprised myself by what came out of my mouth. I said, “It’s okay. I’ll just stop hoping.”
This is such a small occurrence, but it is the tip of the ice burg on a much larger wound. See Mike, and I are no strangers to harder disappointments either. We have had quite a bit of loss in our marriage thus far. We lost a lot of really close friends. We also lost two babies to miscarriage.
So I understand the temptation just to throw up your hands and say, “I’ll just stop hoping.” Honestly, if Judah (our three month old) hadn’t been a total unplanned surprise, I don’t know that I would have allowed my hopes to get up with conceiving again.
Now disappointment is inevitable in this life. So what do we do? When finding a spouse takes longer than planned. When your husband stops initiating date nights. When the promotion is taking longer than seems fair. When whatever it is you have believed for still looks like an unheard and unanswered prayer.
So what do we do when we are disappointed? Whether big or small, what does the Bible say about disappointment? Let’s look at one of my favorite passages of scripture about disappointment.
Jesus Raises Lazarus From The Dead
You probably know this story. Jesus is close friends with three siblings. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Lazarus gets sick, so his sisters send word to Jesus. Jesus waits to leave for their town, and in the meantime, Lazarus dies.
When Jesus arrives, he has been dead four days. The sisters are weeping and crying, and Martha runs out to meet Jesus. She tells Him that her brother is dead and that she knows if He had made it there earlier he would have been healed.
Jesus tells her that her brother will live to which she says she knows someday we will all be resurrected and I love Jesus’ response.
“Martha,” Jesus said, “You don’t have to wait until then. I am the Resurrection, and I am Life Eternal. Anyone who clings to me in faith, even though he dies, will live forever. And the one who lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26
Later in the story, we see that Jesus is deeply moved with emotion and compassion and that He actually wept outside the tomb of a man He’s about to raise from the dead.
He can bring your dead things back to life.
Here’s the big take away: Jesus can bring dead things back to life. That’s crazy! Because He can bring dead things back to life, we can always have hope! Regardless of the disappointment, you are facing, He can bring about life and hope and newness from that pain. He can turn the whole situation around.
I look at my sweet baby’s face, and I see a miracle. I see hope. I see redemption. I see life. I see the faithfulness of my Father. Does it erase the pain or fill the gap left by my losses, no. But it fills me with hope and joy. Judah’s life reminds me that God is a restorer and that He redeems our losses, failures, and pains.
Whatever the disappointment know that with God it’s never the end of the story. If it isn’t good, He’s not done yet!
He Weeps With You
Whether it’s a loss of a job or a dream or maybe a relationship, know that Jesus is with you in your pain. Disappointments tend to require varying degrees of mourning, and Jesus is with you in it regardless of the size of the letdown.
He knows that He will work all things for your good, nevertheless He remains present with you and hurts when you hurt.
More Scriptures On Disappointment
Within your heart, you can make plans for your future, but the Lord chooses the steps you take to get there. Proverbs 16:9 TPT
Trust in the Lord completely, and do not rely on your own opinions. With all your heart rely on him to guide you, and he will lead you in every decision you make. Become intimate with him in whatever you do, and he will lead you wherever you go. Proverbs 3:5-6 TPT
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become tired or grow weary; There is no searching of His understanding. He gives strength to the weary, And to him who has no might, He increases power.
Even youths grow weary and tired,And vigorous young men stumble badly, But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] Will gain new strength and renew their power; They will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles [rising toward the sun]; They will run and not become weary, They will walk and not grow tired. Isaiah 40:28-31 AMP
A thief has only one thing in mind—he wants to steal, slaughter, and destroy. But I have come to give you everything in abundance, more than you expect—life in its fullness until you overflow! John 10:10 TPT
So I say to my soul, “Don’t be discouraged. Don’t be disturbed. For I know my God will breakthrough for me.” Then I’ll have plenty of reasons to praise him all over again. Yes, living before his face is my saving grace! Psalm 42:11 TPT
So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together to fit into God’s perfect plan of bringing good into our lives, for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfill his designed purpose. Romans 8:28 TPT
I hope these Bible verses about disappointment bring you some peace and inspire some hope to grow. I know I clung to the story of Lazarus during my second miscarriage. I had different expectations regarding it that didn’t come to pass, which was disappointing and heartbreaking but what did manifest was the restoration of my own heart. God resurrected my hope and restored my joy. He has begun the process of redeeming my pain and my losses.
This post is a part of that redemption. That I get to share with you and use my own loss to potentially help you and by doing so continue to wage war against the kingdom of darkness, that’s pretty awesome in my book.
I am praying over every reader of this post that you be encouraged and stirred up and that you be reminded of God’s overwhelming love for you. He’s on your side. He’s working all things for your good.
Regardless of the circumstance or disappointment, keep hoping. Keep believing. Hold on to the truth that your Father sees you. He knows you. He is for you. He is with you. He's redeeming your pain. He's restoring your losses. He is fighting for you. He's mending your heartbreaks. He's directing your steps. He's crazy about you, and you and your circumstances and dreams are not hidden from Him.
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