The Heartbreak Of Disappointment Series

The Heartbreak of Disappointment

Scripture: I Corinthians 6:19 Exodus 2 & 3

Theme: Sometimes God allows us to be disappointed so that he can shape us and prepare us for

the tasks to which he has called us.

Seed: Devotional by Oswald Chambers

Purpose: To help the congregation realize that God wants to use their disappointments to shape

them and prepare them for greater service to Him.

Series: Thank God For Broken Hearts

Introduction: A broken heart. Few things are more painful than a broken heart. A man can die from a broken heart even though there is nothing physically wrong with him. Broken hearts are all around us and though we may try to downplay them, the truth is that a broken heart can and often does devastate us.

If broken hearts are so painful, so devastating, why then am I talking about being thankful for broken hearts? Why is the pain of a broken heart something to thank God for? Well, as I’ve said before, “God never wastes a hurt.” I’ve heard it said before that “Those who God uses greatly, he hurts deeply.”

God will take our broken hearts and use them to shape us so that we can do what he has called us to do. Sometimes God has to break our hearts so that he can use us in the way he needs to.

But we often so self-absorbed that we assume our heartaches are about us, when usually they are not. Oswald Chambers puts it like this.

“There is no such thing as a private life for a man or woman who is brought into fellowship with Jesus Christ’s sufferings. God breaks up the private life of His saints and makes it a thoroughfare for the world on the one hand and for Himself on the other”

We need to remember that,

”You do not belong to yourself”

I Corinthians 6:19b (NLT)

Often our heart breaks are so that God can shape us and use us in the lives of others. For that reason alone we should be thankful for broken hearts.

For the next few weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, I want to explore the fact that we should be thankful for broken hearts. There are many ways in which our hearts are broken. Often they are broken because we are the innocent victims of the evil whims of others. At times they are broken because we have made poor choices or have lived in disobedience. Mostly it is some combination of the two.

For the next three weeks I want to explore three specific heartbreaks that we can thank God for because in them he is reshaping us so that he may use us more fully.

Today I want to look at the heartbreak of disappointment. Disappointment has a way of breaking our hearts. I’m not talking about being mildly disappointed because something didn’t go our way. I’m talking about that crushing blow that sucks the air out of our lungs and leaves us wondering what just happened.

The disappointment of a child that dies in infancy.

The disappointment of a wife that just walked out on us.

The disappointment of a career lost due to downsizing.

The big hitters of disappointment can crush us and break our hearts into a million pieces. But in the midst of our disappointment, God is working. One of the greatest stories of disappointment of all time is the story of Moses. He was a man that was destined for greatness but found disappointment instead. A young man, primed for leadership he lost everything he had and was relegated to a life of being forgotten for forty years. Let’s explore the life of Moses and discover how and why we can thank God for the broken heart that comes from disappointment.

Historical Background: How the Hebrew people came to be in Egypt

How Pharaoh feared them as God blessed them

Pharaoh’s command to kill all Hebrew male babies

The Story of Moses

Moses was born to a young Hebrew couple. His mother, as any loving mother would, refused to kill him as Pharaoh had commanded. Instead, she hid him. When he was too old to remain hidden, she wove together a basket and waterproofed it and placed it in the reeds along the Nile River. She didn’t leave him alone though, she had her daughter, Moses’ big sister, go down to the river to keep watch on the baby.

She was a wise woman. She knew that this would be a safe place to hider her son. The current along the edge of the river was non-existent and the tall reeds would hide the basket making it virtually invisible. However, the reeds along the shore could not hide the cries of a baby. And here is where, in my opinion, the wisdom of Moses’ mother proves to be pure genius.