Teaching Summary: The Road Forward

Disappointment isn’t just a feeling. It’s an ache.

A quiet heartbreak over things that didn’t turn out the way we hoped.

A prayer unanswered.

A relationship that never healed.

A door that didn’t open.

A future that didn’t unfold.

And the ache doesn’t just hurt—it drains us.

Disappointment can quietly steal the courage we need to keep following Jesus.

In Luke 24, we meet two disciples walking away from Jerusalem—walking away from pain, confusion, and crushed hopes.

Jesus, whom they believed would redeem Israel, had been crucified. And though there were rumors of resurrection, they couldn’t make sense of any of it.

“We had hoped…” they said.

Those three words carry so much weight.

But Jesus doesn’t correct them or criticize them.

He joins them.

He listens.

And only after walking and talking and opening the Scriptures—do their eyes begin to open.

This is what Jesus does with disappointment. He meets us in it—not to erase it, but to walk with us through it.

And the path through disappointment is paved with something we don’t talk about enough: grief.

Grief is the soul’s honest response to loss. And disappointment is a kind of loss.

Something we prayed for, planned for, dreamed of—it didn’t happen. That matters. And we’re allowed to feel it.

In fact, we must. Because unprocessed grief doesn’t disappear—it just gets buried. And what we bury, we carry.

It weighs us down. It steals our joy. It hardens our hearts.

That’s why Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn.” Because mourning tells the truth.

It says: This mattered. This hurts. This isn’t how it’s supposed to be.

But mourning is only the first step.

The second is lament—bringing our sorrow to God.

Lament is what happens when mourning becomes prayer.

It’s not polished or polite—it’s honest. Raw. Bold. Just read the Psalms.

Lament says:

God, I’m disappointed.

God, I’m confused.

God, I trusted—and it still hurts.

But I’m bringing it to You.

And in the act of lament, something sacred happens: We make space for God.

Not to instantly fix things—but to be with us. To speak. To restore our courage.

The disciples didn’t recognize Jesus right away. But later they said, “Were not our hearts burning within us?”

The very thing disappointment threatened to extinguish—hope—was rekindled.

Maybe you’re walking your own road of disappointment right now.

Maybe you’ve grown tired of hoping, tired of praying, tired of getting your hopes up only to be let down again.

If so, you’re not alone.

And you don’t have to stay stuck.

Jesus is walking with you.

So don’t rush past your grief. Don’t minimize your disappointment.

Bring it to Jesus. Let Him walk you home.

May we be people who learn to grieve well and lament faithfully—so we can walk with Jesus courageously.