In the course of life in a fallen world, everyone has felt the thud of a trusted someone letting them down. It’s often quickly followed by the sting of disappointment; ‘how could they?’
When disappointments arise, Dr. Linda Mintle says the key is in our expectations:
“There are so many people who get so easily let down because people aren’t perfect. People disappoint us. Even people in the church can sometimes say things that offend or not respond the way you would like them to respond. We need to really talk about where we put our trust and how we deal with this business of being let down.”
People of faith are hardly immune to disappointment, but Dr. Linda reminds believers to check where, and in whom, they put their trust.
“Ultimately, if you’re looking for where do I find that complete place of trust, the only one that is going to be able to do that for you is God.”
“He’s the only one that promises to never leave us, never forsake us, never abandon us, to meet our needs, and to be there. So there really isn’t anyone short of God who can meet every single need.”
We are designed for a personal relationship with a perfect God, therefore it is natural to desire those same qualities in our other relationships. But since we’re all imperfect people, those qualities can only flow from a strong relationship with Him.
“Who doesn’t want to have that? A person who will who will stay with them, be with them, walk them through a difficult time? Actually, as the Body of Christ, we’re called to do that…what does it look like to really be the Body of Christ?”
Dr. Linda points to Joshua 1 where the tabernacle was pitched out away from the camp. Joshua had to intentionally put in the effort to be with the Lord.
“They had to seek out God, to go where His presence was. And I’ve been very convicted of this: do I really wake up every morning and meditate day and night on the Word of God? Do I get up when I would rather sleep in and not go to the Sunday school class?”
“It’s inconvenient a lot of times to develop a relationship with the Lord in the intense way where you feel His presence and know that He is there and that you do understand His promises. But doing the hard work, not only with other people, but spending time with God and meditating on His word day and night, are the things that help us.”
Dr. Linda Mintle is a licensed marriage and family therapist, a licensed clinical social worker and national expert on relationships and the psychology of food, weight and body image. She is also the host of the Dr. Linda Mintle Show heard weekly on Faith Radio.
When people let you down
