Facing Disappointment
Pastor Tan Thai · Jun 27, 2015
This sermon, based on Exodus 15:22–16:4, explores three stages of disappointment: before, during, and after. The pastor shows that disappointment often follows great victories and guides the congregation in responding according to biblical teaching.
The sermon opens with the observation that disappointment is an unavoidable part of life. The pastor uses the story of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea and then entering the Desert of Shur without finding drinkable water to illustrate that disappointment often follows the greatest victories. Only three days after witnessing a miraculous deliverance, the people had already forgotten God's grace and complained against Moses when the water at Marah proved bitter.
The pastor identifies five main causes of disappointment: material things, emotional bonds and relationships, circumstances beyond one's control, oneself, and most commonly, other people. He draws on biblical examples such as Lot choosing the best land, Jacob being deceived in marriage, and Elijah's fear after his triumph on Mount Carmel, as well as practical everyday illustrations. Psalm 118:8 and Psalm 146:3-5 are quoted to remind the congregation that trusting in people will inevitably lead to disappointment.
The heart of the sermon addresses five things to avoid while experiencing disappointment: dumping emotions onto others, cursing and blaming, nursing and dwelling on the hurt, broadcasting it widely, and seeking revenge. The pastor uses Adam and Eve blaming each other in the Garden of Eden, Aaron shifting blame onto the people over the golden calf, and Paul's instruction in Ephesians 4:26-31 to urge the congregation not to let bitterness take root in their hearts.
Instead, the pastor proposes three positive responses to disappointment: committing the disappointment to God as Moses cried out to the Lord at Marah, patiently waiting for God to act as Abraham waited for the promised son, and continuing to press forward without giving up. He points out that Marah was not far from Elim, where twelve springs and seventy palm trees awaited, as a reminder that God's blessing often lies just beyond our point of disappointment.
The sermon closes with the example of Paul in 2 Timothy, who despite imprisonment and abandonment by many believers neither blamed others nor grew bitter, but committed everything to God and kept pressing forward according to Philippians 3:13-15. Paul's life stands as a living model of how to face disappointment in a manner consistent with biblical teaching.