When someone lets you down, let the Lord pick you up!

People disappoint us by…

• Not keeping their promises—Have you ever had someone promise to do something or be somewhere for you and then not done it or not shown up when needed? Maybe they had a valid reason. Maybe they didn’t. Either way, they let us down and it caused a problem for us. Sure, we feel better about it and them when they have a valid reason, but either way, we counted on them, only to be let down.
• Bailing out—not staying committed— They said they’d stay in the group, on the committee, in the role, on the job, in the relationship, at it until the project was finished, etc. But when the going got tough, they got going—they left! They quit. Leaving us hanging and/or responsible for finishing what they should have.
• Failing in some way when we expected better of them—Maybe they didn’t do as good a job as we thought they would. Or perhaps their behavior didn’t meet the standard we set and hoped for. Or we thought they would have changed whatever they needed to by now. In any case, they failed to deliver. They didn’t come through for us like we hoped they would.

Thankfully, we don’t have to let disappointment defeat us. We can overcome it. How?

Don’t stay down. Reach for Him, and He will “lift [you] up out of the slimy pit…” of discouragement and defeat (Ps. 40:2).

Don’t get down on others— even the one that disappointed you. Yes, the hurt and harm done are real, but it will be worse if you let bitterness take root in your heart, and even worse yet if you let it close your heart from trusting anyone again.

Because we’re all weak and flawed, we have to give each other grace and space when we fail. That’s what the Lord does with us. “He does not treat us as our sins deserve… As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; For He knows how we are formed. He remembers that we are dust.”  (Ps. 103:10, 13-14)

Dust has a habit of flying around and landing where we’d rather it not. So do people sometimes, including us.

I’ve been disappointed. You’ve been disappointed. We’ve disappointed others. It’s worse when it’s someone close to us that we expect better from due to their usual character as well as the relationship.

But just when we find out we couldn’t depend on that person, the Lord reminds us how we can rely on Him. He’s always strong enough, loving enough, and wise enough to make things turn out even better than they would have if that person had “come through” for us.

When others let us down, thank Him that He always lifts us up and holds us up. Thank Him that, unlike people, including us, He is always trustworthy!

“For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.” (Ps. 33:4-5)

Finally, with all of the above in mind—His care, His faithfulness, our own times we’ve disappointed others and His grace toward us– forget about it! Don’t keep holding on to the disappointment. Or it will hold us down. The sooner we let it go, the sooner we’ll be free from whatever trouble and upset it caused us.

Let me illustrate all this with a story:

Recently, a friend who had shown themselves both willing and able to help out in the past, offered to take care of something important while we were gone for a few days. I left it in her capable hands, thankful to check it off as “done” in my mind.

The night before we left, it became undone, when she called to let me know she couldn’t do it. That left me scrambling to find a solution and way to get it done within a couple of hours. Not fun with all the logistics and preparation I had swimming around in my head and some not completed yet.

What did I do? First—prayed—took the need to our ever-present, ever-available, ever-dependable Father in heaven. Second—processed—emotionally put myself in my friend’s mind and situation, understanding why she had to cancel out. That way I could sincerely say “Don’t worry, I understand”. Third—went about solving the problem, with His help, thanking Him all the while. Fourth—Finished preparing and got a good night’s sleep before we left.

Afterward, I’ve been able to thank the Lord for making things work out even better, because the person who took care of it really enjoyed both the opportunity and the “assignment”—they felt trusted and empowered and did a great job! For me, I felt doubly blessed to have it done and to make someone else feel blessed instead of burdened. Now I can forget the disappointment part!

Now I’d like you to think of your own time(s) when you turned to the Lord for help when the help you counted on didn’t come. Remember how He made it work out even better.

If you don’t have such a story, start with the next time you get let down—let Him pick you up!