5 Keys To Use When Disappointed By God

It was May 2018.  We had a dream to buy a house, but we thought we may be going to ministry school within a year so felt we should hold off.  We also had plans to visit my parents that summer.  Then out of nowhere, our landlord informed us she wanted to sell the house.  We understood her reasons and she gave us plenty of notice (she was a great landlord), but the timing stunk.  Little did I know, these things would lead to being disappointed by God.

Stress And Uncertainty That Led To Disappointment

Fast forward a few months – the choices were limited so we landed in a condo.  Needless to say, it was an adjustment to go from a house to a condo.  

And to boot, the condo wasn’t clean so in the midst of a stressful move, I had to clean which set back settling in.  

We weren’t ready to buy a house, ministry school was on hold indefinitely, I was still waiting for breakthrough from God in several areas of my life, the condo wasn’t clean, and on top of that I was plagued with doubt about my calling. Things looked opposite on so many levels so I wasn’t even sure what and who was I called to anymore.  I let disappointment make its home in me.   

Back On Track

I started a study called Strengthen Yourself In The Lord earlier that year, but with the move, I put it on hold.  So after getting stuck in the ditch of disappointment, I decided to start the study again from the beginning.  It was just what I needed to get back on track.

I poured out all of the disappointment to God, processed it out…I was real and raw about how I felt.  I got my eyes back on God, fed myself with truth and testimonies, and got my feet back on solid ground.  It was refreshing.  

Disappointed By God, Again

But somehow disappointment settled in again in early 2020 (before COVID hit).  I’m not sure what the trigger was, but it erected a wall between me and God.  I struggled to feel His presence and connect with Him in the Word.   

I prayed for breakthrough, for God to expose the root – whatever it was, for Him to break down the wall, but nothing changed. I had my husband and friends agree with me in prayer as well – still no revelation or change.  

Then I read an email from a respected minister about how David cried out to God with a guttural level cry about seeing all that God had done in the past, but wondering where God was and crying out in desperation for more…God, I know there’s more, but I’m not experiencing it.  He suggested that we do the same with the Lord. 

The Turnaround

So on Memorial Day 2020, I spent 2-3 hours pouring out my heart to the Lord.  I’m talking gut level, snot pouring, crying out.  The pain, the disappointment, and the desperation for more of Him and how hard it’s been to wait for so long.  I was real and raw about how I felt.  

After that time, I felt a shift.  The wall was gone and I started to feel God’s presence consistently again and His Word again became alive.  

Even knowing how to clean my heart and after going through that prior season of disappointment, somehow this second season snuck up on me. 

It shows the importance of continually keeping our hearts clean, and guarding our hearts.

The reality is we’re all faced with circumstances that cause disappointment.  The key is processing it and not staying there.  But even if we stayed there for too long (like I did), we can still take time with the Lord to pinpoint the issue and pour it out.  

So what are some of the keys to use when disappointed by God? 

5 Keys To Use When Disappointed By God

1. First, recognize what’s disappointed us.  For me, the first time, it was a combination of things that I let accumulate during a stressful season, and the second time, it snuck up on me and God used the teaching from the minister to reveal the root.  

2. Go before the Lord right away when possible (instead of letting it accumulate like I did) and pour it all out.  If that means crying, yelling, stomping – then we need to do it.  We need to name how we’re feeling.  It’s the same process if we let it accumulate, but it may be longer and there may be some root issues that we also need to deal with. 

3. After we pour it out, we need to replace it with the truth. That truth can be scripture that speaks to that area, or it could be a principle based on scripture, or maybe it’s the prophetic word we’ve been waiting on.

4. Then we continue to fight with the truth, the Word, prophetic word, worship, etc.  We make these daily declarations and affirmations but also use them as the doubt, attacks, etc. come.  Click here for more on fighting with our prophetic words.

5. We should also feed on God’s faithfulness by remembering His faithfulness in the past – dwell in the land and feed on His faithfulness (Psalm 37:3b).  But also by feeding on the testimonies of those in the Bible, in Church history, in the Church at large. Click here for more on feeding on His faithfulness.

So there you have it – some keys to use when disappointed by God.  

If you’d like to go deeper on the subject and learn other keys for strengthening yourself in the Lord as you wait on the fulfillment of His plan for you, then I highly recommend the book and study Strengthen Yourself In The Lord by Bill Johnson.