Disappointment

Here is a sample from my book, Help! I Have a Prodigal.

In this book, readers identify and deal with the emotions from their prodigal situation through an interactive time with God.

 I pray that God will minister to you through this excerpt.

Blessings!

Judy R. Slegh

Seeing the potential in someone and the loss of that potential because

of poor choices may cause disappointment. As our prodigals fail again

and again, disappointment may arise. Missing family events or tension

during family events can contribute to this too. We may partner with

disappointment when we attempt to mend relationships, but it fails.

Violet, a passionate, Christian single mother, made sure her son, Reginald, attended every church activity as he grew up. She felt this would solidify the principles she believed in and would connect him to godly men as father figures. During his teen years, Reginald pulled away to be with young gang members in his neighborhood. He joined the gang, and Violet felt deeply disappointed in her son and with his choices. Reginald rejected his mother’s concerns and distanced himself, saying she was controlling him. Violet was disappointed with her situation and with God. She felt He hadn’t protected her son. This created a mountain of heartache and offense that needed to be destroyed. In prayer with me, she discovered God was disappointed too. This amazed her. As she released her disappointment, she heard God say Reginald had made choices against both of them. This

brought her into a renewed partnership with God, which created relief and peace. God intended to parent Reginald with her.

According to the Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, disappointment is feeling sad, unhappy, or displeased because something one hoped for or expected didn’t happen.

There can be many sources of disappointment. As you read the

following, underline the sentences that seem correct for your situation.

You may feel disappointment when you see your loved one turn

away from their God-given gifts and talents. If you had invested time,

energy, and finances toward these talents, you may feel disappointment when they choose to fail or trade their interests for distractions.

Disappointment and frustration can occur because of a lack of knowledge in effectively helping a loved one win the battle back to

normalcy and victorious living. You may see continued failure in your

loved one’s life despite your attempt to help. It could come when you

realize your sacrifice of time and finances results in a failed outcome,

such as a treatment program. It is particularly hard when your loved

one has victory over addiction and then succumbs to addiction again.

You believed they were free, and now it isn’t true. You could even

start believing the lie that it is your fault your loved one chose their

destructive path because you didn’t have the resources or wisdom to

deal proactively with the situation.

When your attempts to love your prodigal results in negativity and

further breakdown in communication, you can fall into the emotion

of disappointment and frustration. You become disappointed in yourself as you fail to respond correctly in conversations. You might even attempt new methods of communication with the hope of discovering a positive way to interact with them, only to be disappointed when it doesn’t create the connection you had hoped. There may even be a desire to wallow in self-pity, since the sacrifices you made to connect with them were fruitless and not appreciated.

Disappointment may come from family issues arising from your

loved one’s choices. Your loved one may have missed important family

events, which destroyed relationships. This can cause further disappointment as you partner with the emotional breakdown of other

family members.

In all of this, it’s important to acknowledge these emotions and

receive healing for emotional, verbal, and physical wounds.

Reading this section may have highlighted some of your disappointments.

Let’s ask Holy Spirit to help us.

Pray this out loud:

Holy Spirit, guide my thoughts, so I can process this

completely. Retrieve moments that have contributed to

the disappointment I am feeling right now.

(You may want to review the sentences underlined above.)

On a separate sheet of paper, please write down additional disappointments along with the associated memories.

Are you ready to forgive and let them go?

When ready to forgive and release it all, pray the following out loud:

Father God, I confess feeling disappointment and

heartache over my loved one’s choices. You see the

litany of things I have written down contributing to

these feelings. My loved one has chosen to go their

own way, despite my attempts to intervene. I forgive

them for not recognizing my efforts. I release feelings

of disappointment due to their choices. I am disappointed

my investment into their life hasn’t produced

the fruit I expected. At this time, I choose to forgive

them and release all rights for justice and restitution.

I forgive them for causing disappointment in other

family members. I release all identified emotions bottled

up inside and tell them to go, in the name of Jesus

Christ. I release my loved one into Your sovereign

hand. In Jesus’s name.

Father God, I choose to release the memories brought

to my mind and the associated hurt and disappointment.

I ask for Your healing balm to come and minister to the

memories and the disappointment I am allowing myself

to partner with. Father God, is there anything else I need

to process for freedom from disappointment?

If yes, continue to work through these things by forgiving the person

and releasing the memories. This can be done by simply saying out loud, “I forgive _______________ for disappointing me when. . .

I choose to release disappointment and any other emotions associated with this. I choose to bless them with_______________”

(Wait on God to guide you in this blessing. Your heart should agree with the blessing.)

If no, move to the next prayer.

Father God, I repent for allowing disappointment to

be a focus. I oust the influences of the enemy that I

made agreements with, by the authority Jesus gives

me. I renounce all lies I believed regarding my loved

one’s situation. I kick out all wrong attitudes right now.

Holy Spirit, fill up any area cleansed in me with Your

presence and peace.

All pray aloud:

Father God, I want to partner with Your perspective

for my loved one. I know You can work all things

for good for those who love You and are called according

to Your purpose. I firmly believe You have

a good, divine purpose for my loved one that they

don’t even comprehend right now. I choose to partner

with this reality and choose to position myself to

see things from Your perspective (truth) rather than

what I have seen in the past. I ask that You weave

the pieces of my disappointment into Your tapestry

of grace and glory. I choose to walk in the reality of

Your guidance and sovereignty, Holy Spirit. In Jesus’s

name. Amen.

Spend some time right now thanking and praising God for what

He has done for you.

Takeaway

Upon finishing this section, we have released disappointment. As

time goes on, we may encounter new disappointments.

Let’s take time to listen to Holy Spirit’s instruction. He desires to

teach us if we are open to Him.

Pray,

Holy Spirit, speak to me now about these questions. I am open to

hearing from You.

Let’s ask God the following questions:

If I encounter disappointment again, what should I do

about it, Holy Spirit?

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

Father God, what perspective should I align myself to

after finishing this section?

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

Pray,

Thank You, Father God, for this information. It gives

me comfort to see the situation from a new perspective.

Help me to be diligent to keep this focus from this day

forward. Amen.