Disappointment With God
People can get so disappointed with God because of all the promises that God has made to us in the Scriptures. We expect God to answer all of our prayers sooner rather than later (patience is not a strong virtue of the human nature).
Is it God who is letting us down - or could it be our own expectations on the promises of God and what we want God to do for us that is letting us down? God will answer our prayers because like any father, God wants to bless us with 'Health, wealth and peaceful living' but it is always in His timing. I believe we receive these rewards and blessings, not by 'works' (like many believe), but by obedience and trust as we walk God's chosen path for our lives, once we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. "For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope" (Jeremiah 29:11, NLT).
I think one of the biggest problems amongst us as believers is many of us have mindsets. I have found there is generally two main mindsets which determine how we react to disappointment. I went through a time of believing first one mindset, then the other, until God showed me the truth. The first mindset I developed was to do with the truth that God is a good God and wants to bless us abundantly. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly (John 10:10, NKJV). What seems to be preached and spoken about most of the time seems to be predominantly about the goodness and blessings of God, and what we are entitled to as children of God. This makes us become expectant. We believe and expect 'good things' from God, which of course we are entitled to as heirs of God, but we want them when 'we' want them! We start getting excited and declaring and hoping for these things, and when they don't happen in our timing, we feel let down by God. We may even be given confirming words during these times of waiting by other people or 'who' we assume is the Holy Spirit which unfortunately may not even be God. It can be our own emotions desperately trying to convince us, well meaning people who only want the best for you, or even deceiving spirits sent to lead us astray so that we blame God when it doesn't happen. These disappointments in God can make us lose faith and trust. This seemed to be my life for the first four years of my salvation. It seemed I was being let down all the time so my faith took a beating. When I came before God in tears He showed me the fineprint of the Bible, it doesn't just promise blessings, abundance and protection, it also promises suffering. This how we get perfected, it is part of the redefining. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings (Hebrews 2:10, NKJV).
And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us (Romans 8:17-18, NKJV). He showed me we seem to forget this aspect. Sometimes too, what we perceive as 'good', and what God perceives as 'good' are two different things. God sees many of the trials and suffering as good because He sees the end result. He told me that worshipping in Spirit and truth is being able to trust Him and worship Him in the trials and believe that He is good, and wants only good things for us, no matter what we are seeing. That was faith! That is so incredibly enlightening and reassuring, that whatever we are facing He is allowing it, whether that be good or bad (in our definition), and that He will strengthen us, equip us and carry us through, we need to just trust. Everything we face is for a God-ordained purpose. We need to respond to these trials with thanksgiving and praise, for He is using these circumstances to change us to the person He created us to be. He promises that we won't be tempted or suffer above what we can handle, and also if we lean on Him, He will equip us with what we need during these times. God is love! Trust in Him no matter what you may be seeing. There is always an answer and a wonderful outcome; it just may take some time to reap the promises. Keeping close to God (through relationship with Jesus Christ) allows us to keep our eyes and ears on the Lord, so we can discern that the events we are suffering through are for a purpose and not a distraction from the enemy. When we are in these trials it is so easy for us to blame God and even turn away.
(Vision of medicine being given to a child, the child was fighting because it was yuck). What is Gods medicine? The Word! We are given the tools every step of the way, we just need to use them. What are the tools? The tools are of course contained within Gods Word! Worship, deliverance, soaking (being still and simply resting before Him in His presence listening for His voice) and declaring the promises of God contained within Scripture out loud every day. When we fight God’s medicine we can stay entrapped in the trial. It can also prevent God from giving us the revelation to overcome the trial. If we stay close to Him, listening for His directions there is no trial that can beat us. We need to focus on bringing glory to God’s Kingdom and trust God for the strength to conquer the trials. We need to work with Him instead of battling Him. God once showed me that there are no mistakes in God, only opportunities. If we do make a wrong decision God has already made allowances for that and has it covered. The key is to stay on God's path, to learn His voice, His word and obey His promptings. There are many times I have needed to repent, because of my own impatience I have aborted God's plans for me!
The Lord showed me that every single one of us is here for a purpose, and that purpose is to save souls for Him. The very things we are battling are for a God-ordained reason. When we trust and have faith, and overcome the things we are battling, we then carry a special anointing, an authority. We actually have dominion over that area so He can use us to help others who are battling the same things. He forms our own unique ministries according to our walk and the things we have faced and have still yet to face.
Sometimes we can even carry unforgiveness towards God, so we need to repent of this and tell God we forgive Him. We sometimes wonder how such a loving God can appear so 'mean' and 'uncaring,' and not rescue us whilst in the midst of a trial. God once showed me that pain and hurt is one of the times He can work through us. Humans are selfish, and many of us, when we are happy and things are going great, think we don't need God. It seems to be when we are desperate, sad, alone, afraid and disillusioned that we call out to God. Is it any wonder that God uses these times of attacks from the enemy to manifest Himself to us! Regardless of this, God will help us because we are His children and He loves us. God sees 'the big picture', the end result, the absolute ultimate resounding resolution that will occur upon completion of the circumstances we are battling. We see a snapshot of what we are facing at that very moment, God sees the ending as a result of our 'walking through' with perseverance and endurance. During the midst of a trial ask God to show you the positive changes He is making during this painful process.
Only God can truly change us; and sometimes that takes a refining and a cleansing process. He sometimes needs to cut us right down to a stump, so we can be rejuvenated, so that stump can grow leaves and fruit – fruits of righteousness and correct thinking to the mind of Christ. He wants to remove the filth and replace it with robes of righteousness – only God can do this for us by allowing us on a journey where we find ourselves in trials and tribulations – this is God using these things to bring about change. We have to trust God completely in those times … learning to lean on Him, not on our own understanding. You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 2:3, NKJV).
"And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope" (Romans 5:3-4, NKJV).
Let God be God and yield your whole self to Him and let Him prune you, for when you are refined He can then use you more and more. You can be a vessel, clean and ready for Him to place you in front of others who are suffering (and going through the exact same things that you have just walked through and come out victorious with the Lord as your strength). "To the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you" (1 Corinthians 9:22-23, NKJV).
Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, We shall also live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:10-11, NKJV).
This was great and made me see clearly for a while until satan got in and pumped my head full of negative thoughts. This brings me to the second mindset I developed. Instead of believing in the abundant life promises I once had, I did a complete 180 degree turn and instead envisioned a new life full of suffering. I believed that this was so much part of God's will and plan for me that I just had to suck it up, no matter how hard it was. I thought okay, at least I have God to help me through the worst of the sufferings. I, like many others was developing a mindset of mediocrity. I was accepting that this was part of God's plan and was just going to live with it. Instead of knowing God and His heart I believed what the devil was showing me. I started to get tormenting thoughts and was freaking out thinking 'I don't want to live in fear of what I am going to have to face'. I started imaging awful things like I would get cancer, and I would have to worship and trust God so He could give me strength throughout the ordeal, and that one of my kids or my husband would die, and that I would have to trust Him to help me with the grief and strength throughout it all. I remember crying to God in tears and saying to Him, "I feel scared now, instead of feeling like I can trust You, I am waiting for suffering upon suffering and believing that I have to just simply trust You to help me through these awful trials. I can't handle this, just finish me off now". I literally could not see a peaceful life, just suffering and God suppling the tools and the ability on how to get through. I saw my life as a struggle.
God is an awesome God and soon came to my rescue. He showed me that I had many mindsets, and that He was going to break them all, and that I would receive a breakthrough anointing to remove these mindsets, not only from myself, but also from others. He told me that He was going to give me His heart, and show me who He really was, and that when I received His heart I would trust Him in a way I never believed possible. God showed me that even though He uses discipline to perfect His children, He will never give us more than we can handle. If the trial or suffering is extreme, it is because satan is at the centre of it. We must pray and seek God for the root of the problem. Satan has a legal right to our flesh when we sin, or carry unrepented sin and have unyielded areas. God's hands are tied when satan has a legal right, unless He decides to use His trump card of course which is Grace! Nothing can trump the grace of God, and when He decides to use it, it is God's timing and for His purposes. Usually in my experiences God may show us the keys immediately, or allow this for a time to bring about His will and purpose, or because of a mindset be unable to show us, so we become trapped in the trial of suffering. The horrendous suffering we may go through because satan has a legal right grieves Him greatly. Our mindsets can block us from receiving the revelation we need for freedom. He showed me that He is going to restore what the locusts have stolen. God showed me a vision of His big foot stomping on satan. He said to me "Enough is enough". He is going to remove the legal rights of satan and give His children breakthrough by revealing the many mindsets. Mediocrity, laziness and procrastionation is the spirit over His children and they need to use the tools of God for breakthrough. He showed me that His heart is to bless, as it has always been. He said to me "I am Love, I am faith, I am hope, I am blessing".
God is a good God and will not leave us stranded. The thing that is really exciting is I know that the moment we asked Jesus Christ to be Lord of our lives, there is nothing that will happen to us that God is not in control of. Even when it seemed that God has His hands tied, He was still in control. It is now time to fight back and claim back what is rightfully ours! God wants to give new revelation and understanding. He wants us to no longer take mediocrity!
The following is a prayer to pray whilst in the midst of a trial:
“Dear God I repent for the expectations, thoughts, beliefs and preconceived ideas that I have put upon the outcome of all situations and circumstances in regard to the fulfillment of Your promises. I am sorry for being disappointed and even blaming You when these things didn't unfold in my timing and in my way.
Your Word sees that You will never fail us nor let us down and I am sorry that I believed You could. I repent for seeing You as unjust and unfair during trials. I repent for unbelief and lack of trust in You. I choose to believe that 'all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose' (Romans 8:28). I repent for believing my ways are better than Your ways. Father, I instead thank You for the trials You have allowed. Trials from You are so I can have a testimony that glorifies God. In my weakness Lord, You are strong and I thank You for choosing me to bring glory to Your Kingdom. Please equip me with the necessary tools so I can withstand all trials that You send my way. If there are trials that I am facing that are not part of Your with perfect will for me, I ask for revelation, wisdom and discernment to attain freedom. Hallelujah! Praise be to God, in Jesus name – Amen.
I command unbelief, lack of trust, disappointment, destruction, accident, misadventure, and all demons with you to leave in the name of Jesus Christ. I release strength, joy and the peace of God into my circumstances in Jesus name".
Prayer for restoring hope:- Disappointment brings spiritual death. Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life (Proverbs 13:12, NKJV). The human spirit has dominance over the soul but sometimes our spirit may have areas that are inactive or dormant. This is due to wounds. These areas of dormancy mean that parts of the soul has dominance over the spirit. When there are inactive or dormant parts of the spirit these parts need to be awakened to again take dominance over the soul. This is how you walk in the spirit and not the flesh. Sometimes the Holy Spirit has to deal with wounds in our spirit before He can deal with our soul. In this instance God wants to restore hope to your spirit so it can take dominance over your soul. Disappointment brings a loss of hope and is a result of promises that never seem to happen. What does the Bible say about hope? For You are my hope, O Lord GOD; You are my trust from my youth (Psalm 71:5, NKJV).
For surely there is a hereafter, And your hope will not be cut off (Proverbs 23:18, NKJV).
If we lose hope we are no longer believing or trusting in the Lord. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy (Psalm 33:18, NKJV).
For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? (Romans 8:24, NKJV). The word hope in Greek is elpis and means expectation of good! Any unforgiveness towards those who caused disappointment may render the part of the spirit in which we hope dormant or inactive. Losing hope in God and His promises when they are not fulfilled in our timing may also render the spirit inactive. This results in a feeling of hopelessness. Hopelessness is losing the belief in God that He is actually working in your life. Disappointment can cause unbelief and take away our ability to hope. How? Hope is the beginning of faith. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1, NKJV). The devil wants to destroy our hope. We need to repent for losing hope and forgive those who destroyed our hope. Jesus is our hope. If we lose hope we are actually entering into unbelief - unbelief of Jesus and His work on the cross. How can one's promises be fulfilled when one has lost hope? When God gives you a promise the enemy will do all he can to destroy your hope in that promise. When the enemy steals your hope he also steals your promise.
(PRAY) - "Father God I pray that You would show me all those who have caused disappointment. (Write them down)
Father God I forgive (name them) and all others who have caused my ancestors and I disappointment and loss of hope. I repent for the times I have given up hope in You and for Your promises to come to pass. I am sorry for all the times that I have blamed you and was disappointed in You. I forgive You my Father for the promises You have given me which I have not yet seen manifest in my life. I am sorry for all self pity I entered into when things didn't go according to my plans. I am sorry also for all the times I and my ancestors disappointed You or others.
Pray: Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us (Romans 5:5, NKJV).
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13, NKJV).
I pray Father God that You would restore my hopes and dreams. I speak life into my spirit. I speak hope into my spirit. I speak life into those areas that are spiritually dead. Instead of disappointment and foreboding I speak hope."
****** If the enemy has ever stolen your hope you may have become encompassed by the foreboding spirit. Foreboding of course is the opposite of hope and is the expectation of something bad.
Foreboding Spirit – When we build our foundations on fear the spirit of foreboding who works hand in hand with fear creates a strong hold in our thinking. We develop a mindset of foreboding. Foreboding - sense of impending evil or misfortune. An impending sense of doom. This is where you look negatively upon coming circumstances. Doubt, anxiety and worry can plague you. If a person has the mindset of negativity and sees everything in a negative light, he or she will reap fear, panic, misery, lack of peace, anxiety etc. Thinking negative and confessing negative things will hinder God's blessings! For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7, NKJV). The foreboding spirit can cause unbelief in the goodness of God. We may believe that God can do 'all things', and that 'all things work together for good and even have great faith at times, but if we fail to believe that God is good and cares for us all the time we can live a life of worry and doubt. When Jesus was sleeping in the boat when the storm hit in Mark 4:35 the disciples were afraid and asked Him if He cared or not if they perished. This shows us that they didn't trust in the love or goodness of God. The foreboding spirit makes us not trust in the love of God or believe that He wants to give us good things. The key here to breaking the foreboding spirit is our confessions. Positive Scriptural confession releases the power of Jesus to help us meet our need. If we refrain from confessing we can be left at the mercy of our circumstances and negative confession can expose us to demonic and evil forces! I myself suffered greatly from fear, doubt, worry, anxiety and panic attacks. God once spoke to me and the conversation went like this:- "Do you really believe that all things work together for good for those that love God and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28)"? I replied "Yes". He then asked me, "What is all things working together for good in your opinion"? I replied "All things that happen to us no matter how bad they may seem that glorify God and save souls at the completion of it". He said "You are afraid though that what is good for God and others may not be so good for you. You are afraid of what you need to face to glorify God and save souls". I told Him that I was very afraid of this. I would listen to the spirit of foreboding and would live in fear instead of believing in blessings and good things. God then said "My Word promises that I want to give you good things. Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! (Matthew 7:7-11, NKJV). He then said "If you don't believe this then how can I give you good things. This is unbelief and unbelief blocks the blessings of God. Can you let go and trust me that I want to give you good things. All you need to do is believe so that you can receive"! He asked Me to take the word good back to the original transcripts. This is what I found:- Towb is the Hebrew word for good and means moral, happy, fair and kind. God sees Himself as good. He sees His justice system also as good. He sees his chastening as good. The problem is that man does not like to be disciplined. Discipline brings us back in line when we don't walk in His ways. God's ways are good. God's ways are just. God has to judge sin because he is so moral. God really is abundantly good all the time. When we don't believe this it becomes unbelief and can actually block us from receiving His goodness. When we truly trust this and believe in His goodness and work with Him we will live in freedom, in peace, in health and prosperity! At some point you will need to make the decision to choose to trust and believe that God is good. Once you have made that decision it is time to stand steadfast and firm. Whatever negative thought or image comes into your mind take it captive and confess the opposite. Start praising and thanking God for what is going to happen and thank Him for what you cannot see! Eventually your submission to God and the resistance of the devil will make him flee from you (James 4:6-7).
(PRAY) - “Dear God I repent for negative thoughts, beliefs, confessions, re-actions and lack of trust in You. I repent for unbelief in the goodness of God and lack of trust in the love of God. I am sorry for not believing that You want to give me good things always. I (name) choose to trust in God no matter what the circumstances are telling me. I trust in God because God is truth, and God is love. God does not lie. God is for me, so who can be against me. God is a good God who only wants good things for me. I choose to believe Him at His word.
Lord I release peace and blessing over myself and my family. Blessing breaks foreboding. Blessing says something good is going to happen to me. Peace brings a sense of well-being. I break off the spirit of foreboding and all curses operating in Jesus name. I release that something good is about to happen, no matter what the circumstances and trials, because 'God works all things together for good for those that love Him and are called according to His purpose' (Romans 8:28). I command all spirits of foreboding, dread, apprehension, hopelessness, depression, helplessness, self-pity, heaviness, panic, terror, worry, fear, torment, bondage, anxiety and everything with you to leave in the name of Jesus Christ”. Pray: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3, NKJV).
See also Breaking Mindsets
By Tania Francis