“This is My beloved Son, in whom I delight.”  Matthew 3:17

“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” MLK Jr.

“There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ.”   Romans 8:1

“I’m really disappointed . . . in you.”

When have you thought, or even said that to yourself?  Most likely when we feel we have failed, or failed to meet the expectations of someone.

“I’m really disappointed . . . in you.”  When have you said that to someone else?  That someone might be a person, or perhaps even God.  Yes, we can, and often-times are disappointed in God.

Disappointment is a killer.  Literally.

It kills the spirit.  Ours as well as that of others.  And when God fails to meet our expectations, fulfill our dreams or hopes, it can kill faith.

Disappointment killed Jesus.

The disappointment had been building throughout His three years of public ministry. It reached its apex on the day we call Good Friday when a crowd cried out for His crucifixion.  Only a few days earlier, Palm Sunday, they had welcomed Him as a conquering King, the One who would provide deliverance from the hand of the hated Romans.  They delighted in Him-for a short time.  But He didn’t meet their expectations.  That is summed up by the words of Cleopas and the other disciple as they walked the road to Emmaus after the Resurrection, “We had hoped He would restore the kingdom to Israel.”

The series of events that led to the death of Jesus should cause us to pause and consider many things, not the least of which is the disappointments we have experienced in life.  What are yours? 

A fundamental principle of the life and death of Jesus is that He not only carries our burdens, our cares, our crosses, but that He assumes them completely upon Himself.  That includes life’s disappointments.  He became a huge disappointment to others in order to take whatever disappointments we’ve suffered, or are currently suffering, completely upon Himself.

The disappointment the disciples and others felt at His death was transformed into pure delight as He buried the faults and failures in the grave with Him, and turned it into pure delight with the light of His resurrection.  With that Jesus surpassed any expectations, not only of people, but of His Father.  God is NOT disappointed with The Son. “This is My beloved Son, in whom I delight.”  No disappointment here.  Not even a whiff.  Only pure delight.  God delights in Jesus.  God delights in you.  No matter what.

During this Holy Week and Easter Season I would invite you to consider life’s disappointments, and allow The Presence of the Risen and Resurrected Jesus to replace them with delight.

What does delight look like in your life?

How do you practice delight?

How can you use delight to replace disappointment?