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Discipleship in Lockdown (Part 2) by Pastor Kevin

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This blog is my manuscript from last week's virtual meeting with our students. It is a question and answer format that features questions raised by students and parents along with biblical answers. 

If you would like to watch the video version of this three part blog you can find it in two parts on Youtube: 

Video Part 1: https://youtu.be/kVAWK3goWks
Video Part 2: https://youtu.be/S32rD1j_vSM

How do we handle disappointment biblically?

Introduction: Part of our disappointment is owing to the wrong expectations that we have. We typically go through life with the expectation and the thinking that we have rights, not privileges. When our kids have an entitled mindset they are more vulnerable to great disappointment. Thus, we can refer them back to James 4:13-17 as a key piece of biblical wisdom to combat thinking that leads to disappointment. Parents, help your kids to see the ways they are living in entitlement that deviates from what God promises. If they have the attitude that James 4:13-17 warns against gently point it out and help them to see it and how it is setting them up for false expectations. 

On the other hand, parents need to consider the real ways sin has devastated the way your kids experience life. In this, we need to be mindful that God is caring and compassionate on his children and that is communicated through our care and compassion on our kids. Experiencing God’s tender heart for his people is a consolation that eases the pain and draws us closer to himself, which is actually a better gift than what we lost in the first place. Disappointment can draw your kids closer to the heart of God as well as it can draw them closer to your heart as well. Here are some verses that highlight God’s care for us:

1 Peter 5:6-7 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Psalm 34:18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

Psalm 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

Psalm 90:15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil.

Psalm 103:13-14 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

John 16:33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Summary: Disappointment is both our fault and something we are victims of. We need to change our thinking to conform to God’s truth but we also need to realize that God has compassion on his people for the ways we have to live in a broken world that is filled with hardships and disappointments. Parents play a key role in demonstrating the compassion of God to their kids so they will experience it.

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