Unmet Expectations

Content library Unmet Expectations
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Southeast Christian Church

May 10, 2023

When our expectations or assumptions go unmet and unfulfilled, we are typically left with feelings of disappointment. You just didn’t think things would turn out this way and the realization is accompanied by sadness and displeasure. The disappointment could be placed on God, when you feel like he didn’t hold up his end of the deal when you became a follower. Instead of an easy path and blessings, it seems like you’ve just been met with more suffering and hardships since turning your life over to him. Maybe the disappointment lies with another person in your life. You thought your spouse would be more encouraging or your friends would be more supportive, but it hasn’t turned out that way. Now you are left discouraged, and those feelings have caused strain and stress in those relationships. We live in a fallen and imperfect world where life often play out like we wanted or expected, but how do we respond to the setbacks and heartbreaks that we experience?

When we talk about the idea of disappointment, it’s important to note that there's nothing inherently wrong with desiring a good life that's marked by enjoying and delighting in God's creations and the blessings that he's given us to experience. But, if those things become distractions from God's will or if we suddenly start to feel these emotions of disappointment around these things, we don't to suppress those emotions. We want to embrace them, to analyze them, to look at them as like these warning lights on the dashboard of our hearts, and to ask some honest questions like what's ultimately bringing forth that feeling of disappointment. Have you placed your hope or your trust in earthly circumstances, pursuits, or flawed, imperfect people?

Reflection/Discussion Question: In what area of your life have you experienced the most disappointment in? Do you think you had expectations or assumptions that have been unmet?

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