Disappointment is a thief that quietly creeps into the soul, robbing it of energy and leaving it hollow. Unlike anger, which can burn with passion, or joy, which electrifies the spirit, disappointment settles in like a heavy fog. It numbs the senses, making even vibrant colors seem muted and once-cherished dreams feel distant and unattainable. It’s the feeling of trudging through mud, each step heavier than the last, with no clear destination in sight. It leaves us listless, without the spark to fight or the hope to carry on—a lifeless void where enthusiasm once thrived.
Disappointment can strike when everything seems to be perfect. It rarely gives warning of its impending arrival and when it comes, it can suck the life out of us. It comes when expectations are high and celebrations are at the doorsteps. When was the last time we felt the listless hand of disappointment upon us?
Perhaps it was a family member who did something we never expected them to do, or a coworker who did what we never dreamed they would do. Maybe it was a lost opportunity that seemed so sure, one we had already counted on being ours before it vanished like a vapor. In one way or another, we have all been disappointed. Sometimes, it’s a minor inconvenience; other times, it’s a devastating blow. Our disappointments help us to understand what Cleopas must have felt when he and a companion walked the lonely road from Jerusalem to Emmaus, one person less in their lives Who they had put so much hope in.
It was a whirlwind week that saw the anointed Messiah enter Jerusalem on the back of a colt, Israelites everywhere shouting,
“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:9b ESV).
Hope was high. Expectations were about to turn into reality. The promised Messiah was here, and He was about to deliver the people of God from bondage and lead them to freedom from their oppressors. Who else could this man, Jesus, be? He had performed so many miraculous works, works only someone from God could perform. He even showed His power over death by raising people from the dead and granting forgiveness of sin. Even the religious leaders were silenced when He spoke words of wisdom.
Then, in the matter of a few short days, everything changed. The one who they celebrated as the long-awaited Messiah was arrested and put on trial. He was mocked and didn’t fight back. He had no army to rescue Him. He stood in silence while people spit on Him and mocked Him. They beat Him beyond recognition and then hung Him on a cross. He died the most tortuous, demeaning death anyone could imagine.
How could this be God’s promised Deliverer? How could this be the Savior the prophets foretold? How could this miracle worker be the one they had placed so much hope in? And now, Cleopas and his friend were on their way home from Jerusalem. Perhaps they had seen the broken body of the One whom they had placed so much hope in as He hung on the cross, bruised and defeated. Perhaps they had visited His tomb, the visible confirmation that their hope was truly gone. The road to Emmaus would be a quiet, lonely way home this specific evening.
Until they had an unexpected visitor join them on the way.
“That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem,
and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened.
While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them.
But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.” (Luke 24:13-16 ESV).
As they walked, Cleopas and his friend discussed the devastating events of the past few days. They had placed their hope in Jesus, believing He was the one to redeem Israel. But now, all seemed lost. The man they had trusted was dead, and with Him, their dreams of liberation and victory.
Even as the risen Jesus joined them on the road, their disappointment blinded them. Luke tells us that “their eyes were kept from recognizing him”. Isn’t that just like us? When our hearts are heavy and our minds clouded with unmet expectations, we often fail to see Jesus walking right beside us.
Listen to the way disappointment gripped Cleopas as he pours it all out to Jesus:
“Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,
and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him.
But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.
Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning,
and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive.
Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” (Luke 24:18-24 ESV).
Jesus listened to their grief and confusion before gently rebuking them:
“And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” (Luke 24:25-26 ESV).
Then, beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them how all the Scriptures pointed to Him. Imagine their hearts burning as the pieces of the puzzle fell into place! Their disappointment began to lift as Jesus reframed their understanding of His mission. He hadn’t failed; He had fulfilled.
It wasn’t until they invited Jesus to stay with them and broke bread together that their eyes were fully opened, and they recognized Him. But as soon as they did, He vanished from their sight. Their response? They rushed back to Jerusalem to tell the others, filled with renewed hope and purpose.
The story of Cleopas reminds us that disappointment is often rooted in our limited perspective. We focus on what we see and forget to trust in what God is doing behind the scenes. When life doesn’t go as planned, we can take three practical steps to help us navigate the disappointments that can mute our spirit.
Invite Jesus into Our Disappointment: Like Cleopas, be honest with Jesus about your struggles and doubts. Bring your pain to Him, and let Him walk alongside you.
Look for Jesus in Scripture: Jesus revealed Himself to Cleopas through the Word. When you’re struggling, dive into Scripture. Let it reshape your understanding and rekindle your hope.
Stay Open to the Unexpected: Cleopas didn’t recognize Jesus at first, but Jesus was there. Look for His presence in unexpected places—a kind word, a timely blessing, or a newfound perspective.
Disappointment can feel like the end of the road, but the story of Cleopas shows us it’s often the beginning of something greater. When we invite Jesus into our journey, He turns our despair into understanding, our confusion into clarity, and our hopelessness into joy. The next time we find ourselves on our own “road to Emmaus,” remember that Jesus is walking with us, ready to reveal Himself in ways that will set our heart ablaze.
I’m in the book of 1 Kings in my daily Bible reading. I love it when I run across a seemingly innocuous verse that, upon meditation, can open an amazing insight into God and our relationship with Him. I came across one of those passages today.
In Chapter 15, we get a short summary of King Abijam’s reign. You remember King Abijam, right? That’s ok. I am on my 12th time reading the entire Bible through in the last three years and I couldn’t tell you much about King Abijam. But let me give you two verses in his summary and you tell me if anything jumps out at you. Please understand, there is no right or wrong answer. I suppose we can find many insights over the length of our lives as we keep reading the Scriptures. That’s the amazing thing about God’s word.
“Nevertheless, for David’s sake the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, setting up his son after him, and establishing Jerusalem,
because David did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.” (1 Kings 15:4-5 ESV).
What did you see? Let me share with you what gives me comfort this time through my reading. King David was a man after God’s heart. He was the gold standard God measured all other kings by. But he was not perfect. He was a murderer and an adulterer. I suppose most of us will never be a murderer, and God never forgot David’s sin.
But He stopped holding that sin against David. As bad as that sin was, when David repented with godly sorrow, God remembered David as the good king by which He measured all kings who came after him.
David humbled himself when Nathan pointed the boney finger of accusation at him. David poured out his heart to God, asking for God to create a clean heart in him in Psalm 51, right after his sin with Bathsheba and against her husband Uriah.
As terrible as the sin was, God gave David grace when David continued his walk with the Lord after repenting with godly sorrow. That gives me hope. When I look at the evil things I have done and said in God’s presence, that is the only hope I have.
“because Tony did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter {insert one of my many sins}…”
This is my hope and where I find my confidence.
I am in the book of Joel in my daily Bible reading. As in other books, the prophet warns God’s children of their wayward steps with a call for them to return.
“and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.” (Joel 2:13 ESV).
This is the message of the prophets:
You are sinning.
You are about to be cut off from the Lord’s blessing.
Come back to God. He is gracious and waiting to pour out His rich blessings upon you and forestall punishment.
Sometimes, we think God is an inflexible being Who expects perfection when in truth, He is closer to being a Father who is quick to forestall punishment and give chance after chance to His wayward children as He begs them to repent and come home.
We don’t often think of God like that, do we? Sometimes, we chide a parent who treats their disobedient children the way God treats us. We cluck our tongue at the father who warns over and over of consequences without firmly and quickly backing up what he says.
While I do believe that follow-through in discipline is vital to train up a child, I also believe there is room for the same kind of long-suffering, patience, and second chances God offers as we work on helping our children learn to choose to obey without always forcing compliance by the end of the stick.
God used both the carrot and the stick with his wayward children. As we see in Joel and the other prophets, He almost always uses the carrot first and only when that doesn’t work does He resort to the stick.
There is something to be said of a permissive parent who only uses the carrot. This parent trains his children to believe that there are no consequences for behaviors.
But there is also something to be said of the overbearing parent who rules only with the stick. This parent does not give their children the room to learn to choose obedience, but forces it upon them through the threat of corporal punishment. History shows that these children often rebel when they are no longer under the thumb of their parents.
Behold, God’s goodness and severity. It is not one or the other. The Prophets used the carrot and when that failed, they warned of God’s stick.
Parents, are we following God’s model of loving discipline for our children? While acknowledging that different people respond differently to discipline, are we showing both grace and patience to our children as well as appropriately imposing consequences when it’s time?
God was balanced in His approach to the way He disciplined His children. If anything, His actions proved time and time again that He leaned into grace and patience much more than He acted by imposing consequences as He called for repentance over and over, ready to shower His wayward children with His love and grace.
I am in 2 Samuel in my daily Bible reading. This book focuses on the reign of King David. In chapter 7, David decides to build a magnificent house for God.
The prophet Nathan blesses David’s plans, but that night, God comes to Nathan in a vision and tells him to tell David not to build a house for Him.
In this vision, God says of David,
“And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house.” (2 Samuel 7:11b ESV).
God tells David that He will build a house for Him and this house would be an everlasting house. But God does promise that his son will build the house of God. So David does what he can and stores up the best of the best for Solomon to use for building the temple.
But look at David’s response when God forbids him from building the temple:
“Then King David went in and sat before the LORD and said, “Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?
And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord GOD. You have spoken also of your servant’s house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord GOD!” (2 Samuel 7:18-19 ESV).
Who am I?
This was a small thing in your eyes.
If we can take these two attitudes David had about God and live with them for the remaining days of our lives, we will have a compass that will guide us in everything we do.
In humility, we need to be on bended knees when we realize all we have is by God’s grace. When we recognize God is the one in whom all blessings flow, and what we have is from Him, we realize we have everything by His grace and not by our worth. Even the mighty king David, with the splendor of a kingdom in his possession, realized He was nothing in the eyes of God.
And when David considered the amazing promises God made to build him an everlasting house, David never doubted God’s ability to deliver on these grandest of promises. In fact, when promises come from an almighty God, David acknowledges that this is a small thing in His eyes.
God has granted us life eternal. He has made us priests before Him. For most, God has made us Abraham’s children, even as we are Gentiles. Jesus has promised He will invite us to sit with Him on His throne to rule with Him. And God has promised that if we endure faithfully in this wicked and broken world, we will have a home in the New Heavens and New Earth where sin and death will be defeated and destroyed.
When we think of these amazing promises, we should go before the Lord and say to Him,
Who am I?
This was a small thing in your eyes.
I am in the book of 2nd Samuel in my daily Bible reading. As I finish the story of King David, I noticed David was a man of great wisdom. We read about the way he approached war and peace; the way he built alliances and forced subjugation; the way he engaged in civil planning and building projects.
No matter where we look, we see abundant evidence where God had endowed this shepherd with the cunning and wisdom to administer a great nation. Re-read the story of Absalom’s rebellion and look for David’s wisdom as he traversed this perilous time.
David’s wisdom is a study in contrast to Solomon’s wisdom. God gave both wisdom in abundance. The people observed wisdom in both, giving these two kings great honor in their sight.
Yet David had a humble heart that always looked to God as the source of his wisdom. Over and over, we see David seeking God’s will before acting. David realized it was not in himself to direct his own steps.
Solomon, however, sought answers from every source but God. He sought answers in riches, fame, education, accomplishments, study, and love. He wasted many of his years on seeking purpose in every place but from God.
While God endowed the son with greater wisdom than his father, the son was more foolish in the way he used his great gift of wisdom. After years of looking in the wrong places, in his old age, Solomon concludes what his father had known from his youth:
“The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13 ESV).
Indeed,
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” (Proverbs 9:10 ESV).
I hear people say, “If everyone else leaves you, God will not.”
Here’s another truth that may be harder to live by. “If everyone else leaves you, God, I will not.”
Will we stand with God if we are the only ones in our orbit who do?
I am in 2 Corinthians in my daily Bible reading. In chapter 7, Paul talks about godly sorrow. This sorrow, he says, produces repentance.
There are a number of things that can produce repentance in its pure meaning. Repentance is simply turning away. We can be compelled to repent, but that has nothing to do with a change in heart, does it?
We may compel a criminal to repent by locking him up and taking away his ability to continue in his lawlessness. But that doesn’t have anything to do with the heart. The criminal may still have a bad heart that will take an opportunity to commit evil when the opportunity presents itself.
But the repentance that Paul talks about for a Christian is different. Listen to him speak about the repentance that leads to life:
“As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.
For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” (2 Corinthians 7:9-10 ESV).
As a servant of Jesus, when we are confronted with our sin, it breaks our heart. We repent, not from compulsion, but from the heart. That’s why Paul says our repentance leads to salvation without regret.
When we turn from our sins out of godly sorrow, we don’t look back over our shoulder, longing for the evil we turned from. We walk away from our evil life with no regret. We don’t miss it because we are a new creature, transformed from the carnal to the spiritual.
Without regret. This is the type of repentance godly sorrow will produce. With regret, our repentance is not from the heart. This is why the godly sorrow of the Corinthians brought great joy to Paul:
“As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.” (2 Corinthians 7:9 ESV).
Is our repentance born of godly sorrow without regret?
When I was young, I used to worry when I prayed, “Not my will, but Yours be done.” I was afraid God’s will would not align with my will.
As I grow older, I have come to rely on God’s will, not mine, to be done.
I have learned that my limited, myopic vision doesn’t often know what’s best for me. But God’s unlimited, perfect vision never miscalculates what is best for me.
While I will often pray for what I think I need, I always ask God to give me what He wills, not what I will.
It used to be hard to pray for His will to be done in my life when there was something I desperately wanted.
Now, it’s scary for me not to pray for His will to be done when there is something I desperately want.