DEALING WITH DISAPPOINTMENTS. By Pastor Fernando

SCRIPTURE
1 When Jeremiah had finished giving this message from the Lord their God to all the people, 2 Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah and all the other proud men said to Jeremiah, “You lie! The Lord our God hasn’t forbidden us to go to Egypt! 3 Baruch son of Neriah has convinced you to say this, because he wants us to stay here and be killed by the Babylonians[a] or be carried off into exile.” 4 So Johanan and the other guerrilla leaders and all the people refused to obey the Lord’s command to stay in Judah.
Jeremiah 43:1-4

OBSERVATION
Some of the commanders and leaders of the remnant inquired to Jeremiah for direction. We can assume that their intentions were right, but they were expecting God to agree with their own plans rather than seeking to obey God's will. So when Jeremiah reveals God's plan, which was contrary to their desires, they were disappointed. And because they were proud and arrogant they handled their disappointment poorly. They ended up fighting against God and in a worse situation than ever before.

APPLICATION
One of the great lessons of the reality of life is that we will face disappointments. We must learn how to handle disappointments correctly in order to see the provision and the protection of God regardless of our situation. In a nutshell, when facing disappointment we have three ways to go:

1. We can take the road of guilt, which leads to shame. When we face something disappointing because we made a poor choice in the past, the enemy is going to try to bring us down with guilt. We dwell in the past, revisiting our steps with great regret, blaming ourselves for the consequences, without seeking redemption and restoration from God. This road will take us straight to shame, a place where we chain ourselves to hopelessness.

2. We can take the road of judgment, which leads to resentment. If pointing the finger at ourselves doesn't work, then we can blame others. That's the road that the leaders of the remnant took with Jeremiah. When people don't fulfill our expectations and disappoint us, our tendency will be to get angry at them, jump into conclusions - often wrong - and misjudge their intentions and even their character. This road leads to resentment, a place where we will holding grudges and poison our own minds and hearts with discontent and bitterness.

3. We can take the higher road of accepting the new reality, which leads to confidence. When facing disappointment, we don't have to waste time. We can assume the responsibility and accept the new reality. It may not be what we expected, but when we stop resisting with guilt or judgment, but embrace the new reality, God comes with His promises and restores our confidence to face that new reality.

In my own journey with the disappointing diagnosis of autism for my youngest son David, I've seen how easy is to take the wrong road. I felt guilty and considered this situation as punishment for my past, or a direct result from my negligence as a father. Also at times I felt angry at doctors and the entire vaccination system, blaming them for my son's condition. But none of these options helped me when facing my new reality. Only when we came to terms with this reality, we found peace and confidence to ride the storm. I'm not sure where I would be if i continued in the wrong direction. All I know is that as we accepted our new reality, we have seen God's presence, power, provision, and protection every step of the way.

PRAYER
Dear heavenly Father, help me to stay in the road that leads to confidence in your power to face any new reality. Help me to apply this principle in all my decisions and in every circumstance when disappointment arrives unexpected. Teach me how to deal with disappointment in a way that invites your amazing power to work miracles in my life. Help my to follow your example when you faced the greatest disappointment in history. You did not walked in shame, or stayed in judgment. You did embraced the new reality, took initiative and responsibility, and sent your son Jesus to die in the cross for my sin. Let me follow you in this matter. In Jesus name, Amen!