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Disappointment is the mother of most wrong theology.
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INTRODUCTION
Life is full of peaks and valleys. Many times we plan, and envision our whole paths to success. And despite our best efforts, we can encounter disappointment many times. Soul-crushing it can be. And it often results in quitting.
FAILED PLANS
For most of my life, I was not a planner. After becoming a Christian I started to sense there is more out there for me. God called me to do more than the current circumstances. But as one who lacked planning skills or the revelation of how important planning is, I of course never saw any fruition. After I started to finally plan, I had to and still need to battle for this new habit every day. But during the Big Event hosted by Pastor Jim Baker and his associates, Leif Hetland said something powerful that stuck with me.
"In the area where the serpent has bitten you, you have authority." (2)
I have failed in my endeavors and was met with disappointment. At times I gave up and quit on my dreams and the learning of new skills. Disappointment can be hard to battle, but not impossible to overcome. We need to lean on Yeshua and His strenght, enter into His victory by loving on Him and we shall see the end of strife. Down below I will list 5 steps that help us even further.
THE MOTHER OF MOST WRONG THEOLOGY
I wish that life would only be full of success and joyous, peaceful events. Deuteronomy 30:9 (NIV) states, “The LORD your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb ...” And yet many times we are met with disappointment. And usually, it happens right after we have received a Word from God. It can be so devastating when you are sure you heard God say, “Pursue this.”, and then it all falls apart. Or did it?
In the KJV Dictionary, disappointment is described as the following.
DISAPPOINTMENT, n. Defeat or failure of expectation, hope, wish, desire or intention; miscarriage of design or plan. (3)
We form plans and envision our whole path to success, but along the way, we may experience failures. Some are devised by Satan and some are simply brought to us by natural limitations. After putting in so much work, seeing our dreams fail can be devastating, especially if it has been a recurring event. It is even more disappointing if we sacrificed much to pursue something we believed God guided us to pursue.
In those moments voices start to whisper those lies of doubt to us, those probing questions and thoughts. ‘Did God really say? Is God in this? Did God approve of this?’ Satan’s crafty way of sowing doubt comes into play again. Making us doubt God is really in this. What better way to crush our spirits than to disappoint us with failure or rejection? Craig Hill agrees.
Disappointment is the mother of most (maybe all) wrong theology. People tend to elevate their personal experience above the Word of God. God is not the author of pain, death, and destruction. It is true that storms will come, but they are never from God. This kind of thinking leads to a misconception of God. That misconception of God then creates restrictions and limits on God that lead to unbelief. Unbelief leads to bitterness, fear, blaming, disobedience, and rebellion. (4)
All of this can then result in quitting and abandoning of plans and positions.
5 STEPS TO EFFECTIVELY DEAL WITH DISAPPOINTMENT
If not properly addressed, disappointment can cause real problems down the road. After we have experienced disappointment, we need to immediately address all the negative emotions that surface. If we do not address them, our image of God can be distorted, leading us to idolatry. We can also bottle up all the negative emotions until they one day explode in an unforeseen way.
As can be seen from the story of David and Ziklag, that I also learned from Craig Hill, five steps need to be taken to prevent this. If we follow these steps when dealing with disappointment, we will remain fixated on the Lord and His promise instead of our external senses.
First, we need to pour our souls out to God through spiritual breathing. We exhaust all of our toxic emotions and feelings through exhaling. In this stage, we tell the Lord how we truly feel. Then we inhale the truth of God, recognizing that the truth is different from how we may be feeling at the present moment.
Second, after we have gone through the process of spiritual exhaling, we then strengthen ourselves in the truth that the Lord is not behind the disappointment.
Third, we call for others who can help strengthen us, spiritual leaders for example. With their help, we inquire of the Lord and ask Him for instructions on how to deal with the situation.
Fourthly, we receive instructions from God, gather our allies, and impart the vision. And last but not least, we execute the plan. (4)
CONCLUSION
Disappointment is not from God. It is satan’s tactic to bring doubt and discouragement. Per Pastor Craig Hill it is the mother of most wrong theology. It can be soul-crushing, but overcome. To effectively deal with disappointment we need to first pour our souls out by exhaling all the toxic emotions. Then we need to inhale the truth. Thirdly, it is best to seek others who will strengthen you and together ask for instructions. Fourthly, we receive instructions, and fifthly we execute the plan.
Application
Next time when met with disappointment try to implement the 5 steps mentioned above.
SOURCES
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Leif Hetland. Big Event 2024 by Wealth with God. Session 1 on September 6, 2024.
King James Bible Dictionary: Disappointment. AV1611, online version. Accessed on March 26 2023. Link: https://av1611.com/kjbp/kjv-dictionary/disappoint.html
Craig Hill. Kingdom Ambassador Fellowship: Connect, learn and pray together. Overcoming disappointment. Saturday February 25, 2023.
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