And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. – Romans 8:28 (NIV)
The word disappointment is an interesting one. It is made from three separate parts or words – a prefix, a verb, and a suffix. Each part has its own individual meaning that helps form the idea of what disappointment is all about.
The prefix dis- is a negative term. No matter what word it is put in front of it gives the impression that something is wrong. It can invoke a feeling of failure, sadness, or frustration. If the word had positive connotations, as soon as dis- is put in front of it, all positivity disappears.
Appoint is a word that has various meanings. One of these is the establishment or provision of what is necessary to fulfil, equip, select, or furnish a person with whatever they need to accomplish a task. It tells us that something is happening.
When you join dis- and appoint together you get the word disappoint. This word immediately brings up the thought of either us or someone else failing to meet our expected outcome. Our hopes and plans have failed to be fulfilled because we have been thwarted by circumstances beyond our control, or in some cases, circumstances we have caused ourselves.
The suffix -ment indicates that something is concrete as the result of a process taking place. In this case, it also indicates the state or condition of a person as a product of what has happened.
Put these three parts together and you come up with disappointment, a word which describes the frustration, defeat, and failure of our expectations. When disappointment comes, we get so preoccupied with our thoughts and feelings that we begin to think that the things we want to happen will never happen to us. We can get overwhelmed by negative thoughts that threatened to envelop our hopes for the future.
Disappointment is a part of life because we don’t live in a perfect world. If we did, then the word disappointment would not exist, and all our dreams would come true. Unfortunately, disappointment does exist and the best way to defeat it every time it comes is to learn how to live with it and how to turn it around.
God gives several verses in the Bible to help overcome disappointment. In the Bible, the tools are there to make a negative into a positive. The key is to know that whatever happens God will use it to make us stronger and for our own good. We may not see it at the time as we are experiencing disappointment, but we should always remember that God is working for and not against us.
During our times of disappointment, God will also be with us. He is our Comforter, someone who will listen and understand our frustrations and defeats. With his help, our failures will not crush us but instead He will show us how to overcome them so that we can be who He wants us to be.
As long as we keep loving God, He will keep working for our good. Disappointments will fade away because we have a divine appointment with Him.
Originally published on Inspirational Christian Blogs in October 2016