Reverend Martin talks about facing disappointment

The Rev Dave Marvin, of St Mary’s Church, Greasley, speaks about wrong expectations and facing disappointment.
NEAALM110504D3 - St. Mary's church Greasley. Rev Dave MarvinNEAALM110504D3 - St. Mary's church Greasley. Rev Dave Marvin
NEAALM110504D3 - St. Mary's church Greasley. Rev Dave Marvin

The other day I came across this story. After five years, a psychiatrist told his patient that he seldom uses the term “cured” but he was pleased to announce that she was completely cured.

To his surprise, the patient became disappointed. The doctor asked, “What’s wrong? I thought you would be thrilled to know that you were cured”. The woman replied, “Doctor, look at it from my point of view. Five years ago I was Joan of Arc. Now I am nobody”.

This is a woman who was disappointed because she thought/expected to be someone who she clearly wasn’t and wasn’t happy when she faced the reality of her situation.

That’s why many people face disappointments today; they have the wrong expectations. As a result, they face more and more disappointments and don’t really know how to deal with them.

I read an article written by Warren Rodwell who had been held hostage by a terrorist group and had featured in a number of ransom videos. He told Daily Mail Australia he became more compliant after he lost hope. 

“Whatever someone wants, you give it to them”, he said.

“You just do what you’re told. Nothing really has meaning to you any more. Someone tells you “say this” and you say it. You just imagine whoever is watching it is smart enough to realise you haven’t really got your heart in it. Once you lose hope you lose heart.”

Our Lord Jesus suffered unthinkable horrors at the hands of his captors and was killed in one of the cruellest forms of execution imaginable. We know that he suffered both physically and mentally. The Bible tells us that before his death Jesus said, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death”.

We’re also told that in his anguish he prayed earnestly and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

But his death opened up immense opportunities for us and gave us hope even in our darkest of times. It’s up to us to accept the light of Christ, to accept those opportunities and use them to bring Christ’s light into the lives of those who are living in dark times, seemingly without hope. Because ‘Once you lose heart, you lose hope’; I pray that it won’t be the heart of Jesus and the hope that he brings.

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