Disappointment can shake us, especially when we’ve prayed, trusted God, and genuinely believed a particular door would open. An unexpected “no,” a financial setback, a missed opportunity, or circumstances that don’t make sense can leave us wondering where God is in the middle of it all. But disappointment doesn't mean God has changed. When our circumstances challenge what we expected, they can reveal whether our hope is rooted in what God does—or in who God is.
Psalm 25:5 gives us a different way to respond: “For You I wait all the day.” Waiting on God doesn’t mean pretending disappointment doesn’t hurt. It means bringing our questions and grief to Him while choosing to trust His character, timing, and wisdom. Even when we don't understand why a door closed, we can remain confident that God is faithful and that our hope is safest in Him.
Highlights
- Why disappointment can reveal where we have placed our hope
- How unexpected circumstances can test and strengthen our faith
- Why God’s character remains trustworthy even when His answers don’t make sense
- The difference between trusting God and trusting what we hope God will do
- How closed doors and unanswered prayers can deepen our dependence on God
- What Psalm 25:5 teaches us about waiting on God with hope
- Encouragement to remain faithful to God through both blessings and disappointments
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Full Transcript Below:
Hope During Disappointment
By Cindi McMenamin
Bible Reading:
Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
For You I wait all the day (Psalm 25:5 NASB).
Wouldn't it be nice if life consisted only of pleasant surprises, not the disappointing ones? And yet when we meet disappointment head-on, it is a true test of the strength of our faith.
I remember receiving news that was gravely disappointing. I wasn't prepared for it in the least. It was shocking, really. God had been on a roll with blessings in my life. I guess I'd grown a little comfortable. And this disappointing news couldn't have come at a worse time...a week before Christmas, just days after celebrating my daughter's college graduation, and just a week prior to my husband's transition into a new season of life that carried with it a lot of financial uncertainty.
My family was daily looking for the little assurances that God had our backs, and we were constantly praising Him for all the times He came through for us. And now, it looked like the door to my golden opportunity and financial stability had slammed shut. My first reaction, spoken aloud, was "God, this is so out of character for You."
And then I suddenly realized something: God doesn't do anything out of character.
- If God's response to my request appeared out of character for Him, then it is my understanding of the situation that is in question, not His character.
- If God's timing appears to be wrong, then it is my perception of His timing that I will doubt, not His ability to coordinate all things perfectly.
- If God's love appears to be in question—because of how He has responded to my situation—then it is my trust that is in question, not God's love.
It was then that I understood. It wasn't God's character that was being put to the test in my disappointing circumstances. It was mine. Would my faith stand an unexpected turn? Would I take only blessings from God and not the disappointments too? Or will I trust Him, wholeheartedly, that He knows exactly what He's doing, and perhaps this closed door means an even better one will soon be opening?
My disappointing circumstance helped me to remember three things:
- Disappointment is a very real part of life.
- Disappointment is something God can use to grow me into someone who is more like His Son.
- Disappointment is the measuring stick for how strong my faith is.
In Psalm 25:5, in the New Living Translation, the psalmist declared where his faith and hope were when he said: “Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long, I put my hope in you.”
Intersecting Faith & Life:
I realized, through my reaction to this disappointment, that I had put my hope in my circumstances, not in God. I had grown comfortable and secure in my abilities, my work, and my finances, and I was now suddenly desperate for God. Desperate for Him. And that's exactly where He wanted me to be.
I want my response to God in the disappointments of life to be just as pleasing to Him as my praise during the blessings of life. Can God trust me to be faithful to Him regardless of my circumstances, regardless of when He chooses to bless and when He chooses to withhold? Can my hope remain in Him constantly?
Job once said, "Though He slay me, I will hope in Him" (Job 13:15). I haven't been "slayed"—not in the least. I've just been disappointed. Therefore, I long for the song of my heart to be, "Though I don't understand why He allowed this, still I will trust Him."
Have you been gravely disappointed in your circumstances? Are you wondering why God has allowed—or not allowed—something in your life? It's possible He wants you to be desperate for Him, too. When you and I can say our hope is in Him, not in what He will do, then we get a little clearer picture of what it means to follow Him faithfully.
Disappointment or not, let’s desire a faith that is strong and a heart that is pleasing to Him.
Further Reading:
Isaiah 43:2
To grow a heart that hopes in God alone, see Cindi’s newest book, The New Loneliness Devotional: 50 Days to a Closer Connection with God.
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