Let’s dive right into a loaded question. After my previous post, I know my younger self would have never doubted this question; it’s a hardcore yes without even thinking about it. But this is one of those things that time and age and experience in a sinful world can make you think twice about. AND, it is something that lots of Christians quote a lot and throw around, but is it actually biblical? There are a lot of quotes that are very prominent in the world of “Christian encouragement” that actually aren’t even in the Bible.
This is a post with a question you can probably look up and find tons of in-depth, theological articles that really dive in to this. I actually haven’t looked to see what’s out there, but I wanted to keep it that way in tackling this because my aim isn’t necessarily to write a research article here. I want to examine the truth about Him from what He’s shown me through His Word and goodness to me and from what I have studied about the Bible and this topic.
Just before we get to this, I have written a couple posts that are similar in topic, and I’d encourage you to read them if you haven’t or want to refresh/learn more about my thoughts on this: Disappointment | A Reflection and Darkest Hour, Brightest Hope. These posts came to my mind when outlining this and I will be touching on some of what I wrote here.
Now first things first,
Does it say in the Bible that God never disappoints us?
The short answer: No, there isn’t a verse that explicitly says this, but there are tons on His character, actions, hope, and response to us. We also need to examine people who probably felt very disappointed by Him (and there are tons of them in the Bible, as well) and His response to them. I definitely won’t be able to cover all of them in this post, but I will try to hit on as many as I know of.
What does the Bible teach about God and disappointment?
Now I did read a wonderful book one time that was actually titled Disappointment with God by Philip Yancey, and I loved it. But I honestly haven’t read it since that one time, in 2016, so I don’t remember everything off the top of my head. I would love to read it again soon to brush up on this; I remember finding it very encouraging and real, unafraid to ask the hard questions and analyze the answers.
As I said earlier, though, I’m not trying to base this off another’s theology, so I won’t be repeating verbatim what that book said. Let me start with my own personal experiences grappling with this question. Like I said, as a little kid I never questioned anything about Him other than through my fictional writing through the characters’ minds because I felt to do otherwise would be unforgivable. In fact, it was actually another book by Philip Yancey I read later that summer that first opened me up to the idea of being honest with God in that way. It was his book on prayer and when he talked about how Jacob wrestled with God and we should, too, I was appalled by that.
That fall, though, my adolescence must have kicked in, and I started wrestling with God in a way that didn’t end until a little before college. That isn’t to say I don’t ever now, but I did so much then that I have learned everything He tells me to reassure me so my tantrums just don’t hold up anymore for long. However, I can still feel like He’s let me down. It’s a really easy thing to be let down in this world; it’s guaranteed, over and over again, so to say that He never will let you down seems like a dangerous gamble, but then you might feel guilty because you know that’s not how you want to think about Him. So what do you do? How are you supposed to think and balance that cognitive dissonance?
This is cliche but it has to be said off the bat: we know we live in an imperfect world; nonbelievers recognize that, and to think otherwise would be pure lunacy. So then you have to think since disappointment is guaranteed, is God responsible for that disappointment? That gets into a lot of the theology on how suffering exists with a perfect, good, and all-powerful God and, once again, I can’t cover all of that here, and that’s getting too broad. Most of us just want to know, at the heart of all this, if He is trustworthy. If we can count on Him not to hurt us. So I want to keep that in focus. Is He the One who hurts us? (Last thing on this: I do really recommend reading Yancey’s book on disappointment because I remember it did an amazing job of answering the “little” and “trivial” questions about if we can trust Him in our everyday lives while also spanning the theology of suffering).
Since He is God, He can do whatever He wants; He can hurt us if He wants, and He does in two ways: one is through discipline for those who are in Him, to refine us, and the other is through wrath for those who aren’t in Him, to deliver the justice His holiness requires. But what it comes down to is that WE sin. We are the ones who choose to hurt ourselves, and He responds as a good parent or judge has to. Blaming Him isn’t fair, especially since through His sacrificial death, He experienced everything we should have to make it so that we can be saved at all despite our wickedness. There’s a very short theology lesson, and I hope I explained it okay, but feel free to ask me questions if you need to.
Getting back to disappointment, though, it really begs asking: Are we getting the short end of the stick? Obviously not. We are in no place to question Him about anything, yet He’s given us minds and free will that can, and He’s been incredibly gracious in providing His encouragement, direction, and plans through His Word. If we say He disappoints us or lets us down, our feelings are misplaced because when you really think about all He’s done for you, you don’t have a leg to stand on. You’re in His debt; He owes us nothing, yet He literally has given us everything (Romans 8:32)! A lot of people project their feelings of disillusionment with others, the world, and the devil himself onto God, and I have done that many, many times in the past and can still do it if I’m not careful. But it doesn’t change the fact that it’s misplaced; feelings are very often not an accurate picture of the truth.
However, intellectual, theological knowledge doesn’t always feel comforting in the heart of disappointment. What do you DO with those feelings, even if you know they’re wrong and don’t want to have them? What encouragement do you have?
To answer that, I want to look at several biblical stories, especially the one it’s all about: the death and resurrection of Jesus. There are a lot of instances in the Bible where I think God sure does seem to do things the hard way—let His Son suffer and die for our sins, wait thousands of years to usher in the new earth… It just seems like there would be an easier way to do things at less cost to Him and without us experiencing so much heartache and waiting. So why does He do things that seem to be more painful? For that, I want to examine what had to have been the most helpless-feeling and disappointing times ever: the disciples and followers watching their Lord die. Nevermind the fact that this is what God had been saying through the prophets for years and that Jesus Himself told them what would happen—it makes you wonder why their eyes were still blinded to it and why God wanted it that way. Maybe to show us how it can feel when His plans do feel like a huge letdown and to prove they are better than we imagine.
I really do empathize with them, though, because the way the Old Testament talks about His return, it does make you think His coming to earth was when He would usher in His kingdom and bring justice to all earthly kingdoms. But that is still to come, and His first return was so He could usher in salvation along with judgment because those who don’t repent after His sacrifice condemn themselves since He has fulfilled the Law and brought light to darkness, showing us what is good (Matthew 5:17; John 3:18-20).
It had to be the worst feeling in the world to watch Him die, to hear Him say that needed to happen. What abandonment, loneliness, anger, grief, and despair they had to have felt. Even though He told them He would rise from the dead, they didn’t process that, so they truly thought that was it. Imagine the shock His death had to have been, a complete contradiction to their beliefs, the worst possible scenario imaginable—to be humiliated and proven wrong, seemingly. And not to even have Him there to inquire of anymore.
It was only three days, but those three days had to have felt like hell. Where would they go from there? They saw everything He did, but now He was dead, so what was it all for? But He did rise from the dead, so it was all worth it. Was it the hard way to save the world? Maybe it looked that way, but it was also the only way that would ever mean anything and cancel our debts forever. It’s the only way that would bring life (John 14:6) and complete freedom.
Ask the disciples during those three days if God let them down and I’m sure they would have said yes. But He had this planned before the creation of the world. He knows He’s bringing everything to a glory that will be more than worth it, that is beyond comprehension (2 Corinthians 4:17).
I read a summary the other day I screenshotted of a book I want to read on the new earth, and in that summary, it said nothing is lost here because of the new earth. That’s of course excluding the evil, including people who don’t repent, but the bottom line is that the things you think you’re losing that disappoint you aren’t going to waste. They’re not just God playing tricks on you or being cruel. There are reasons that, unfortunately, you might not find out within three days. But they are good reasons. He doesn’t wait in vain. He doesn’t take away without blessing to those who are in Him. For those who are in Him, we know that He works ALL things to the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).
Has God let me down and disappointed me? Oh, there have been times I would’ve said yes. But when I process it objectively, I know there are good reasons. I see His kindness through it all. I know He loves me, has good plans for me, and is always faithful, even if it takes time for me to understand.
He’s patient. He is love. He never gives up on us, and He even lets us come to Him with all of these accusatory, complex questions. So I do say that yes, He never disappoints or lets us down because He is our Creator, we were made for Him, and even when we rebel, He always provides the way back to Himself and His blessings.
He lets us run to Him with our disappointments. He’s the only One who saves from it all.
One last way to think of it: feeling disappointed is feeling like you missed out on something good. But He promises He withholds no good thing from those who love Him (Psalm 84:11). He is goodness itself, so nothing apart from Him could ever be anything worth having. Everything He does is good and for our good. We are the ones with a sin nature. We are the ones who can’t possibly fathom all that He does for us. Therefore, I would go one step further and say it’s impossible for God to disappoint us. Horrible things do happen to us that certainly hurt and don’t feel good, and I’m not trying to minimize that at all, but they all pass through Him. He wouldn’t allow them if there weren’t a reason for them that would make things otherwise better than they could have been without them. In fact, that is actually one of C.S. Lewis’s famous quotes on why God allowed mankind to fall in the first place.
Redeemed humanity is to be something more glorious than unfallen humanity would have been, more glorious than any unfallen race is (if at this moment the night sky conceals any such).
C.S. Lewis
And just one more thing to add on that. Sometimes He does allow the absence of good things for, as stated above, something better than just having the said good thing. We saw this with Job, who lost everything he had, but then God multiplied it all numerous times beyond what it ever was. That isn’t to say that Job wasn’t disappointed with God for a time. He wasn’t able to see what was going on behind the curtain or the coming redemption. So I also think we can feel disappointed with God, certainly, at times, but in the end, He won’t disappoint. It will all be made right and made up for.
Bible Verses On God Never Disappointing
Here are some verses I came across when I looked up to verify that there isn’t one explicitly saying He doesn’t disappoint. 😉 However, when you absorb these messages, they’re basically alluding to that anyway.
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
Hebrews 10:23 ESV
As it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.
Philippians 1:20 ESV
Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
Proverbs 23:18 ESV
He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.
2 Corinthians 1:10 ESV
For the Scripture says, ‘Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.’
Romans 10:11 ESVFor the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes in Him [whoever adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] will not be disappointed [in his expectations].’
Amplified
And there are more. The whole Bible is full of His faithfulness and encouragement and goodness. If you do specifically want to see more of these verses, read my post on Him dying for us, His love, His plans, and His hope.
Praise be to Him! Surrender your life completely to Him and you will see how He does imaginably more than you ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20-21).
