I was feeling disappointed the other day, so I did what any other member of Gen Z does when they’re feeling low, and posted about it on my social media.  The post posed a question that asked “What has disappointed you recently?”  The responses I received varied in seriousness and sadness - here are some of them: 

“My belt from Target was too flimsy” 

“My friend won’t play volleyball with me” 

Then, they got a little more real. 

“The ACT” 

“My boss” 

Finally, they got REALLY real. 

“I had a miscommunication with my spouse” 

“I miss my family” 

“He was using me” 

I was totally surprised at the openness of my followers, but also totally unsurprised to find traces of disappointment in everything from Target belts to boys. Reading these responses reminded me of one of my favorite passages in Scripture that comes from Jeremiah 2.  Jeremiah was a prophet, just a kid really, and God gave him the hard business of telling the nation of Israel what He really thought about their tendency to worship idols. I think verses 12-13 are also a powerful commentary on disappointment; here is what they say: 

“Be appalled, O heavens at this...For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” ~ Jeremiah 2:12-13 (ESV)

The imagery is so powerful here.  God refers to himself as a fountain of living water.  He is like a natural spring - always full and flowing. He satisfies and fulfills like absolutely nothing else can.  No disappointment there. Yet, Israel keeps trying to get what it needs from broken cisterns - from idols. Cisterns were literally holes in the ground used to collect rainwater.  They also tended to collect silt and mosquito larvae. Cisterns are the worst place to get water from, just like idols are the worst things from which to seek fulfillment.

What Israel did is what we do.  We run to things and people, and we are consistently disappointed.  I think though, that even disappointment carries a blessing. The sadness, hurt, or rejection we feel serves as a powerful reminder that we are drawing water from an empty well; it reminds us to go to the fountain.   

Every time I disappoint someone else, I am reminded that I am not Jesus, nor should I expect myself to be.  I get to tell my friend (the one that I forgot to call back or hurt with my words) that I need grace.  I get to tell them that although I will consistently disappoint them, there is a Friend who never will. The reality is, I’m just a broken well myself, and I need the Fountain daily. 

Every time someone or something disappoints me, I am reminded that I am dealing with other broken wells.  The fountain never runs dry, so it’s okay when my wells do every now and then.  I am freed to be a vessel of grace to someone else with words like: “it’s okay, I forgive you” or “don’t worry about it, really.” 

So, when disappointment inevitably pays you a visit this week, remind yourself that these empty wells point to a blessing.  There is a God who is holy, holy, holy and wants a relationship with you.  There is a God who (despite your disappointments) decided that YOU were worth dying for. Best of all, there is a God who never disappoints - a perfect Father, Friend, and Fountain. Go to Him.