LIVING THROUGH DISAPPOINTMENTS
I. INTRODUCTION
A. Fact of Life --> Disappointments do occur.
Sometimes disappointment so crushes a person that he/she is emotionally
handicapped for life.
B. Everyone Experiences Disappointment --> No Exceptions
God had only one Son without sin, but never one without sorrow. A. Pink
C. Some rise above broken dreams and live in victory.
D. You can dream again. Joseph did. Gen 37: 5 -11
II. JEREMIAH (THE PROPHET)
A. Jeremiah was a prophet in the southern kingdom (Judah) during the last forty years of
its existence (627- 586 B. C.). He lived through the period of the disintegration of the
kingdom, witnessed the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, and spent the
remaining years of his life in Egypt. According to tradition, he was stoned to death
for preaching the truth.
B. Called to be a prophet --> about 20 years old (maybe in his teens). Jer 1:4-5
1. I knew you.
2. I consecrated you.
3. I appointed you.
C. Promised
1. Divine Protection Jer. 1:8 Jer 1:18
2. A Fight Jer 1:19
D. Enjoyed some freedom under King Josiah during a reformation in Judah. Jer 1:2
E. Lamented Josiah's Death II Chron 35: 20 -25
F. Suffered Tremendously
1. Jer 26:8-16
2. Jer 36 Jeremiah's message burned.
3. Jer 36:26 Ordered to be arrested
4. Jer. 37:11 -15
It is bad enough to be persecuted by strangers, but far worse to be persecuted
by those who know us best!
5. Jer. 38:1-13 Accused of treason, put in a dungeon. (Cistern) About 60 yrs. old
6. Exiled to Egypt Jer 39:11-14
7. Very likely Jeremiah died in Egypt among a people who still were not willing to repent.
If ever a man had a broken heart, it was Jeremiah.
No prophet had less influence on the people of his generation, yet no prophet
ever spoke more eloquently for God than did Jeremiah.
Robert. H. Bullock Hammer on the Rock
III. HOW TO FACE AND CONQUER DISAPPOINTMENT
Jer 10:19 Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous; but I said, Truly this is a grief, and
I must bear it.
Hurt = a bruise, a hurt, a fracture, a breaking, a shattering, a breach,
an opening in the wall
Wound = It means a blow, a stroke; a beating; a wound; slaughter; defeat.
Bear= to bear, to carry, to wear, to take, to take away, to accept
A. Expect Disappointment --> Be a Realist
1. Faithful Saints share disappointments
a. Abraham --> Lot
b. Joseph --> His brothers
c. Moses --> Children of Israel
d. Paul --> The Church --> False Brethren --> Demas II Tim. 4:10
2. Tell Jesus how you feel
3. Confide in someone (friend/counselor/pastor)
B. Our Disappointments are in His Hands
1. Ps 31:15 My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies,
and from them that persecute me.
2. He knoweth the way Job 23:10
In the fullest sense of the word, Job himself did not know the way that he
took, nor do any of us. Life is profoundly mysterious, and the passing of the
years [often] offer no solution.
3. Disappointments or His Appointments Job 23:13 -14
4. Satan's Lies
a. God has failed you.
b. You have failed God.
Remember --> Jeremiah was Faithful. He did not fight circumstances.
He accepted it. I must bear it.
5. The will of God?
"Fight the will of God and it will break you; accept the will of
God and it will make you."
James 1:2 "count it all joy"
C. Yield to God and Let Him Heal Your Broken Heart
The results may not always be humanly favorable or desirable.
Remember Jeremiah
1. Faithful 4. Imprisoned
2. Arrested 5. Exiled
3. Beaten 6. Stoned?
Was Jeremiah in the Will of God?
IV. WHAT DID GOD ACCOMPLISH IN THIS TRAGIC HISTORY?
A. God made a man very much like Christ. Matt. 16:13 -14 Jeremiahs?
B. God working out the good. Rom 8:28
C. God builds Character --> Experience Rom 5:3 -5
D. Disappointments are opportunities for ministry.
Story of pastor who lost six children and then testified how God was bringing
people in as a direct result of the accident.
"Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it!"
