overcoming disappointment

DISAPPOINTMENT: Disappointment is a mild form of anger that is triggered off by a trusted person doing something selfish or irresponsible that was unexpected. It is not based upon irrational thinking but by people failing to behave as they should, so it is a fact-based emotion. Even Jesus was disappointed in His disciples after He was resurrected and in Mark 16:14 the Scriptures say, "He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen." 

steps for overcoming disappointment

STEP ONE:  Be completely honest about the reasons for your disappointment and make a list of everything that disappoints you about a person.

STEP TWO:  In a simple prayer, tell the Lord everything that disappoints you about the person then sincerely ask Him to take your disappointment from you and carry it for you.

son releases disappointment of father

A Set Free Prayer Minister decided that it would be wise to make sure that he had no unresolved anger or disappointments from his past that could affect his ability to help others find freedom.  He grew up in a Christian home with  a godly father who loved the Lord and read his Bible all the time. However, there were several minor incidents during his childhood when his father disappointed him, and although he felt no anger toward his father, he recognized that disappointments are a mild form of anger. So, he made a list of several childhood memories he had of his father.


1.  One time when he was playing Monopoly with his sisters in the living room of their home, his father was reading the newspaper nearby. An argument broke out between the children and his father scolded him and accused him of cheating, which was untrue. He was falsely accused and punished unfairly by his father.

2.  At about age 8 he began reading a lot of comic books that the neighborhood children were passing around. His father came up to him one day while he was reading a comic book and took it from him and wrote on it, "Jim's Bible." This was hurtful to him and felt like a rebuke and disapproval.

3.  As a teenager he was hired to paint the ceiling of a neighbor's home and he worked hard and thought he had done a good job. When his father came and looked at the ceiling, however, he pointed to several spots that he thought were missed. This felt unjustifiably critical and made the boy feel hurt.

4.  His father was never very affectionate and seldom express extravagant approval or praise for him. He never told this man that he was proud of him, and this was disappointing.


After identifying a number of other such childhood memories of his father, this man prayed and told the Lord that these childhood memories made him disappointed in his father. He asked the Lord to take the disappointment (anger) from him and replace it with his peace. Afterwards, he was able to think about his father and these memories without any negative feelings of sadness or disappointment. 

applying the steps to disappointment

1.  Remember, disappointment is just a mild form of anger, so the same two steps that resolve feelings of anger will resolve your feelings of disappointment, too. 

2.  Disappointment looks the same as anger to those around us, even though the feelings may be somewhat milder and not feel exactly like anger.

3.  Don't let the sun go down on your disappointments, and do not give the devil an opportunity in your life by holding onto it. Give it all to the Lord by the end of the day, before the sun goes down.