Hope: Exploring God’s PlanNäide

Let’s begin by asking a brave question.

Can we even approach hope again after it feels crushed by disappointment?

I don’t think we can explore the idea of hope without first acknowledging its connection to disappointment. At some point, we’ve all faced unmet expectations, painful circumstances, or failed plans. And it’s in these moments of crushing disappointment that we need hope the most.

Disappointment has been a lifelong struggle for me. I’m a designer and illustrator, so visualizing is my superpower. But it’s also one of the reasons that disappointment has become part of my personal narrative. Here’s what happens.

As soon as a future event is mentioned, I get giddy with excitement. I can’t help but imagine what it might look like. So, my creative brain comes up with concepts. Then my strategic strength plans how and when it needs to happen. And my achiever personality starts moving heaven and earth to actually make my expectations a reality.

Do you see how this can be a problem?

When my hope is rooted in one imaginary outcome, reality often falls short of my expectations. The result: disappointment.

Proverbs 13:12 describes “hope deferred,” or in some translations, “unrelenting disappointment” being the cause of heartache. That’s what I’ve experienced when events don’t turn out the way I thought they would. It’s what Jesus’s followers experienced too.

For centuries, the Jewish people imagined what the future would look like when their long-awaited Messiah arrived. They were sure that after years of oppression, Jesus would save them by force, as a warrior king who would overthrow Rome.

With those expectations in mind, what actually happened must have looked pretty bad. Jesus was arrested, tortured, and crucified by the Romans!

Like we so often experience, Jesus’s followers had a fixed, incorrect expectation of the future. They had misunderstood God’s promise of a Savior.

When I’ve had to admit that I misinterpreted a promise or let my expectations outpace reality, God has gently led me to today’s verse from Isaiah.

Can I offer it as a gentle reminder to you too? If you’re disappointed because something hasn’t turned out the way you imagined or expected, let this truth ignite a spark of hope in you. God’s thoughts are not your thoughts. His ways are not your ways. His ways are even better than you can imagine.