Modern history is filled with people who were devoid of hope and crushed by disappointment. Veterans who returned home from horrible wars believing they would be welcomed as heroes, only to find themselves forgotten, hated, and displaced. Families who survived the Great Depression and rebuilt with grit—only to watch their entire life savings evaporate again decades later in market crashes and corporate scandals. Parents who trusted institutions to protect their children and discovered too late that the institutions had failed. Business owners who poured their lives into companies that collapsed overnight in the 2008 financial crisis.
In this fallen world, disappointment spares no one.
Maybe the life you are living looks nothing like the one you planned. The marriage you trusted fractured. The child you raised with love—walked away. The career you sacrificed for—vanished. The ministry you believed God called you to—collapsed. How do we keep from being crushed by these tremendous disappointments that not only drain us but also strike at the heart of our very identity? Do you ever find yourself asking, “How in the world did I end up here?”
Well, it’s taken repeated crushings of my identity for God to get through my thick skull this priceless truth: Anything I love more than I love God has the power to crush me.
You see, we are all worshippers; that is, we WILL make something or someone the center of our hopes and dreams. Unlike other living creatures, God created us in His image; to live with Divine purpose. Purpose gives us hope. But we regularly attach our greatest hope to things or people that are not designed to carry the weight of our deepest needs and desires. We regularly create our identity around relationships, financial security, professional success, health, or even the pursuit of our own happiness. And—then we are stunned when they fail us.
The irony is that we think we can give God our leftover time, leftover trust, and leftover love and attention and yet we still expect Him to keep us from being crushed when everything else collapses. Through salvation, God gives something radically different: living hope.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.” 1 Peter 1:3–4
When Jesus rose from the dead, He conquered the ultimate enemy—eternal death. Without His salvation, our disappointment is terrifyingly final. Being born again equips us for real joy, true prosperity, and deepest satisfaction.
Hope rooted in Christ does not fade because Christ does not fail.
When Jesus is the center of our life—not an accessory or afterthought —then we are positioned to handle disaster without being crushed. Sure, we still hurt, grieve, and even feel despair because life is hard. But when we are constantly resetting our focus on Jesus, we find our greatest identity in Him. Despair no longer defines us. Our hope rests in Christ, untouched by economic collapse, human betrayal, or broken systems.
Scripture warns us plainly against fragile hopes:
“No king is saved by the multitude of an army; a mighty man is not delivered by great strength…A horse is a vain hope for safety…Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy…Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.” (Psalm 33:16–20)
God must be first—not our careers, relationships, wealth, stability, or even a carefully managed future. When He holds first place, everything else finds its proper place. Loving God frees us to love others deeply—because our hope is no longer fragile.
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear.” 1 John 4:18a
Prayer:
Lord, You see my disappointments. I confess that I have placed my deepest hope in people, plans, and outcomes instead of in You. Forgive me for loving Your gifts more than I love You. Re-center my heart. Anchor my hope in You alone. When life disappoints me again—show me the opportunity to bring You greater glory. Keep my soul steady in You—the hope that does not fade. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
