Jesus endured deep disappointment when He came to His own and His own did not receive Him. No, we are not lying; read it for yourself in John 1.11. Can you imagine traveling home to your people and they reject you? Naturally, you would be saddened and you would not be the last one. It can happen also in the workplace. You have a great idea and share it but instead of praise, you receive criticism.
When somebody else shares that same idea later, people praise them. Who can blame you for being unhappy with such a scenario? Perhaps the person you love with all your heart does not love you back. You hear of children rejecting their parents who raised them. The deep disappointment of such a situation is unimaginable. We could go on.
You apply for a job for which you are qualified and you don’t get it. Later, you learn that the applicant who is less qualified was the one that got the job. You are naturally upset but we note that Jesus, our big brother was not upset. This post will share with us some strategies for being like him and avoiding the health effects of unhappiness. Trust me, anything that will keep you from being unhappy is worthwhile.
First, He knew who He was. Do you know who you are? Through Christ, we are more than conquerors. We are joint heirs with Christ and can start to reign here on earth. So, the next time you face deep disappointment, remember who you are, a child of God. I am assuming that you have invited Jesus into your life and that you are under new management. If you are still on the fence concerning Jesus, sorry, but deep disappointment may be your undoing.
Jesus Was Not The Only One
Learning from Jesus, you must not give in to discouragement when people reject you as a minister of the gospel. After all, Jesus had told us no less. That since they rejected Him, they will likely reject us. Now, it is easy to say this but more difficult to actually do it. Any type of rejection leads to the pain of deep disappointment. But for the sake of your health, not to mention the gospel, you cannot afford to give up.
And we have the example of the Apostle Paul, who followed Jesus’ instruction and did not let rejection upset him. He knew who he was but there was something else he learned from Jesus. He had value. Jesus was a miracle worker in addition to being the savior of the world. That meant that anyone who rejected him was hurting themselves; they would not get their miracle. And Paul was that way too. Those who rejected Paul were hurting themselves.
Are you like that? If they reject you, add value to yourself by adding skills. Do something, take a course, or start a business so that the haters will be the losers. You must not just sit there and moan that nobody likes you. When you do that, you let the bad people win. Jesus did not let them win and neither did Paul. Why should you be different? Get off the couch (or the mat) and make something of your life. Start small and build up. Then, and only then will those who initially rejected you start to look for you. At that point, you have turned the negative of deep disappointment into a positive.
David Dealt With Deep Disappointment
Even before the time of Jesus on earth, a famous king learned how to deal with deep disappointment. King David was a man who had lots of disappointing things happen in his life. He was anointed king and yet for seven years, he could not sit on the throne. His best friend, Jonathan, whom he loved like a brother, died young. Even his son whom he had with Bathsheba, died in infancy. The Philistines waged a fierce war to defeat Israel after which David’s own people threatened to stone him.
Oh, yes, David experienced deep disappointment at every stage of his life. But do you see him moaning and getting himself sick? Not at all. He encouraged himself in the Lord on one occasion. On another, he sat before the Lord and prayed. And, don’t forget, he already had value, as a king.
What about me? What about you? How do we handle the discouragement of deep disappointment? We have learned that we must know who we are in Jesus. Additionally, we must add value to our lives, and lastly, we should learn to encourage ourselves in the Lord. That way, we shall avoid the emotional and health effects of disappointment.
Stay tuned
Maranatha!