Disappointment is Hard
Today is a time for reflection. Think about the first time you made a decision to be all in with Jesus. It’s like sunshine being poured into your soul. You come alive and find yourself so excited about life. Your heart is sincere in following Jesus to the ends of the earth. Jesus, my heart is yours. My life is yours.
How long have you been a believer? March 2003, I made a decision to be all in with Jesus. I was so excited to give my heart and life to Jesus. What happens to a person that would cause them to be all in then find themselves barely living with Jesus on the back burner of life? That was me.
Let’s look at John 11 to see who Thomas was before he was labeled by religion as doubting. “Then Jesus made it plain to them, “Lazarus is dead. And for your sake, I’m glad I wasn’t there, because now you have another opportunity to see who I am so that you will learn to trust in me. Come, let’s go and see him.” So Thomas, nicknamed the Twin, remarked to the other disciples, “Let’s go so that we can die with him.”
Thomas is willing to lay his life down for Jesus. He is all in, full of faith and trust in the Lord. The disciples have already seen many miracles and now they get to experience one more and it is a major one. It’s resurrection after four days. Thomas is here for it all. What happens to Thomas that he would later be known as doubting?
He experienced disappointment. Disappointment if not brought to the Lord will cause a broken heart. When Jesus was crucified, his disciples were heartbroken, disappointed and discouraged. Have you ever been disappointed? Disappointed in yourself, someone else or a tragic life altering situation. These moments in life can cause us to pull back from Jesus. Truth is when you pull back from Jesus you pull back from life itself. You can find yourself just going through the motions of life. You’re not really living. When we make decisions from disappointment it effects our whole life. In Galatians 5, it talks about a little leaven ruins the whole lump of dough. Disappointment effects everything.
How do we deal with disappointment? Let’s look at John 20. “One of the twelve wasn’t present when Jesus appeared to them—it was Thomas, whose nickname was “the Twin.” So, the disciples informed him, “We have seen the Lord with our own eyes!” Still unconvinced, Thomas replied, “There’s no way I’m going to believe this unless I personally see the wounds of the nails in his hands, touch them with my finger, and put my hand into the wound of his side where he was pierced!” Then eight days later, Thomas and all the others were in the house together. And even though all the doors were locked, Jesus suddenly stood before them! “Peace to you,” he said. Then, looking into Thomas’ eyes, he said, “Put your finger here in the wounds of my hands. Here—put your hand into my wounded side and see for yourself. Thomas, don’t give in to your doubts any longer, just believe!” Then the words spilled out of his heart—“You are my Lord, and you are my God!”
Jesus is not disappointed in you for having doubts or a broken heart with walls all around. In this passage we see Him go past all the disciples who had faith. Straight to the one who was struggling to believe. In our most troubling and darkest moments He shows up. A lot of us have gone through some very traumatic, heartbreaking things in life that has caused us to withhold parts of our heart.
Jesus says to you, “Put your finger here in the wounds of my hands and put your hand into the wound of my side.” He is saying to you today, “You have to put your fingers in my wounds if you expect your wounds to be healed.” Only by staring at His scars can our disappointment and broken hearts be healed.
Thomas’ response to Jesus, “You are my Lord, and you are my God!”
Bring your disappointments to your Lord today. It doesn’t matter if it happened yesterday or twenty years ago. Time is irrelevant to Him. He just wants to heal your heart and bring encouragement to you. His wounds heal, just stare at them.
