How To Deal With Disappointment As A Christian Millennial.

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

Have you experienced disappointments? How can you deal with disappointments as a Christian Millennial? As long as you are breathing, you have dealt with disappointments in your life. It is inevitable. After all, God clearly tells us that His ways are better than ours. And whenever there is a conflict between His and our ways, He goes by His way. That does not mean that He is bad for doing that. It only means that He has wonderful plans for our lives and He would rather disappoint us now to get us on the path He has for us. So what is disappointment? Let’s discuss that.

- Disappointment definition.

How then can you deal with disappointment as a Christian Millennial?
Conclusion.

Disappointment definition.

According to the Oxford dictionary, disappointment is the feeling of sadness or displeasure caused by the non-fulfillment of one’s hopes or expectations.

Have you had your hopes go unfulfilled? Maybe you thought you would get a specific job only for it not to materialize. Or maybe you studied so hard because you were aiming for a certain grade and that did not materialize. Or maybe you thought you would be some place different by now and that’s not the case. Maybe you prayed for something and it did not go as you thought it would. Whatever way you have had your hope dashed, today I want us to deal with disappointment and learn how to manage it well. In fact, I have a question for you. Has God ever disappointed you? How did you handle that? Is it even Biblical to talk about it?

I hope you have taken the time to answer this.

As Christian Millennials, we sometimes find that we lack that safe space where we can unpack disappointment, especially that which comes from God. You cannot deny that it happened because the pain is very real. You don’t know how to handle it, since it is true that God allowed you to go through it. And it can even be harder when you realize there is a scripture that tells us that those who trust God will never be disappointed, yet here you are.

Child of God, today I would like you to know this. God can allow you to experience disappointment. But this stems from having unmet expectations. In the sense that you don’t get what you hoped for in the way you thought it would come in. Now that does not mean the Bible is misleading us, it simply means that God’s ways are higher and His thoughts are higher. And what you thought would come in one way ends up coming in another way.

Another reason disappointment happens is through free will. God has given each one of us free will. With that being said, there are situations that are not in your control. And that could lead to disappointments too. An example would be, let’s say you pray for someone to get well. However, this person lacks the faith to believe in their healing. Or worse, they give up entirely. God can override His will for that person which might be to heal and make them whole. And instead, go with their will. Aside from your faith, God will work with the person’s faith and will. And that could lead to them not getting healed in this realm.

God might disappoint you now because of the consequences of a particular sin. An example would be the case of David. David fasted and prayed for God to heal the child he got with Bathsheba. Unfortunately, because David had committed adultery, there was no way that sin would have gone unpunished. After all, God had given the command that death was the penalty for adultery. In His mercy, He did not heal that child as a penalty for the sin of adultery and murder. Therefore, God can allow disappointment as a consequence of one’s own actions. Have you ever gone through disappointment because of your actions?

How then can you deal with disappointment as a Christian Millennial?

Manage your expectations if you want to deal with disappointment effectively as a Christian millennial.

The first thing you need to do is to learn to manage your expectation. And the best way you can do this is by relinquishing control. Until you can give God control and learn to rely entirely on Him and His leading, you will always experience disappointments. And the practical way you can manage expectations is by Understanding God’s character. When you understand God’s character, it becomes easy to trust His ways. This comes through spending time with Him. Reading His word is also another way you can learn to understand God’s character.

When God gave Abraham a promise that he would be a father of many nations, it took years before this promise manifested. And I can only imagine how with every passing year he was always reminded of the pain of not having a child. This got to a point where Sarah had him have a child through her maidservant, Hagar. Something that this scripture points out is that one way you can manage expectations is by relaxing your timeline and allowing God’s timeline to come to play. Although God had given Abraham a promise, He did not tell him when it would happen. He just said that it would happen. Relaxing your timeline is key. Just because it does not happen in your timing, it does not mean it will never happen.

Another way of managing expectations is by relaxing your ideas about how it will happen. When God gave Joseph a dream that his father and brothers would all bow before him, he must have had a picture of how it would happen. He probably had an idea of the conditions according to his limited thinking. However, he had to go through the pit, to slavery, then prison, before God’s promises came forth.

Mind you, this fulfillment came to be in Egypt and not in his home country. Relaxing your ideas of how things should happen is essential if you want to deal with disappointment as a Christian Millennial. Most times God does things His way and does not consult us. And this is because of our limited viewpoint. He knows we will look at our capabilities instead of looking at His limitless abilities. You might have a list of things that you think will happen in a certain order but God might not do it as you expect Him to. This is why relaxing your ideas is one of the starting points to deal with disappointment effectively as a Christian millennial.

Have faith.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Unfortunately, when that hope is dashed, it’s difficult to believe again. And therefore having faith is imperative. Having faith is not trying to figure out the when or the how. It is believing that God will do His way in His time. Every one of God’s promises always comes to pass. This is because God is not a man that He should lie and He always watches over His word to establish it. Having faith means trusting God, even when things don’t go your way. Christian faith is a key part of life and your spiritual life too.

As God’s people, we are instructed to have faith because this is the starting point of pleasing God. God’s word reminds us that without faith it is impossible to please God. When faced with disappointment, you need to believe that God is good and see His heart towards you. His genuine desire is to have you experience His very best and have an expected end. Having this in mind, you realize that disappointment is just a setup for something better and greater. And once you realize God will always exceed your expectation, you will understand why He had to disappoint you. Could it be that God is answering a prayer you made years ago by disappointing you now? Maybe your expectation was so low and therefore He disappointed you now to get you to elevate your thinking and rise to the level of the plans He has for you.

Some way you can ignite your faith is by reading the word of God. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by God’s word. You need to have faith in God’s promise even after you experience disappointments. When Jesus Christ left, He sent the Holy Spirit. And Him being your helper He will help activate your faith by bringing to remembrance God’s word and helping you hold on when doubts flood in. Prayer and worship are also key ways you can ignite your faith.

The beauty of praise, prayer, and worship is that they help you turn your focus to God. In so doing, you experience healing from disappointment. After all, we know hope deferred makes the heart sick. Whatever you do, don’t lose faith in God. That is what the enemy wants you to do. But when you decide to hold on to God, you will experience promises fulfilled in ways you never imagined. Have faith in God, His character, heart, and Sovereignty. This will help you deal with disappointment in a healthy way.

I need to point out that faith is not ignoring what you are feeling. It is choosing to believe in God despite your current situation.

Join a Christian Community and have Godly counsel if you want to deal with disappointment effectively as a Christian millennial..

Your close friends will either help you deal with disappointment in healthy ways or unhealthy ones. That is why it is imperative to check your circle of friends. Who is in your circle? Are they helping you fuel your belief and trust in God or vice versa? As young adults, it is important to ensure that you have Goldy people in your circle. Especially in this age of social media where it looks like everyone has made it. Having people who will remind you who God is and who you are in the face of disappointment will help you deal with disappointment as a Christian Millennial.

They will also help point you in the right direction when it seems like you have lost your way. You can find Christian communities in your local churches by joining the different groups in the church. Social media is also another place you can find good Christian communities. The goal is to find like-minded people that will help you navigate disappointment by encouraging you and sharing their own testimonies. The Bible tells us we will overcome the devil through the word of our testimonies. Their testimonies will help you deal with life’s circumstances and navigate difficult times well. They will also help remind you of God’s love for you amid your dealing with disappointment.

Godly counsel is essential for your Christian journey. Not only do they impart their knowledge to you and show you how to apply it in your own life, but they also guide you when you are going through a difficult time. Success and victory come in the presence of godly counsel. Of course, the number one thing is to seek advice from the Holy Spirit and the word of God. You can find godly counsel through church leaders and Christian counseling centers too. Again, look for those whose goals are aligned with yours.

Try again.

Just like Mary and Martha who had to believe again after they had lost their brother, you need to do it too. Both Mary and Martha shared the same sentiments that had Jesus been present, their brother would not have died. Although they were disappointed, they still went to meet Jesus and they still believed that He had power. And to you too, I want to encourage you to believe and hope again. Yes, you have experienced disappointment.

However, there is so much more to your story and God does not want you to give up yet. Although Jesus did not come when Mary and Martha expected Him to, they still got to experience Him. And in fact, they experienced Him in a much greater way. They got to experience Him as The Resurrection. And more importantly, they got to see that He cared for them and saw their pain too.

Conclusion.

Disappointment is something you will experience as long as you live here on earth. And I hope this blog has helped you find ways that can help you deal with disappointment as a Christian millennial. There is so much in store for you. And God is not done with you. Just because something did not happen in your time or the way you thought it would, does not mean it never will. God has something greater for you. And the best part is that He is present even in the disappointment. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Just trust Him and know that when He disappoints you now, He will exceed your expectations later. Come up higher and ask Him to let you in on what He is doing.