When People Disappoint You

If you have ever looked up to someone, only to have them mess up and fail, you’ve probably felt a deep sense of disappointment. Maybe you felt betrayed or even foolish for looking up to them. If you have longed to be like someone and then watched that person make a mistake that you never want to make, you might have been left wondering who you can look up to, who you can trust. It’s important to remember that all humans are going to mess up—some in more obvious ways than others. Because we live in a world broken by sin, all of us do wrong and end up hurting each other, whether intentionally or unintentionally. God created humans to be good, but we’ve all rebelled against His good ways. Since the first humans sinned, it became impossible for any human to live without sinning. Until God became human. Jesus, the Son of God, came to live among us, and He lived in perfect love, never sinning. Jesus is fully worthy of our trust in a way no other human could ever be. His ultimate act of love was sacrificing His own life for us on the cross, so that we could be forgiven from all the wrong we’ve ever done (and ever will do). Jesus rose from the dead, defeating all evil and inviting everyone to put their trust in Him. Now we can be reunited with our good Creator through Jesus. No one on this earth is perfect in the way God is. He is the very definition of what is right and good, and we can depend on Him to act according to His holiness and unfailing love. People are not nearly as dependable. But one day, when Jesus returns, everyone who knows Him will be restored to the way God made us to be. In the meantime, Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit to be in all Christians and help us to become more like Christ. God designed humans to live in community, but it’s important that we don’t look to other humans to be our savior or source of life—only God can fulfill that role. But we can still find people to mentor us and to be Christ-like influences in our lives, keeping in mind that those people are only human, just like us. And we can ask God for help to discern when to follow people and when to learn from their mistakes. As people disappoint us and fail us, God remains holy and perfect. We can trust that He will never let us down. • Emily Acker • Have you ever looked up to someone who later messed up in a big way? God has compassion on us and wants to comfort and heal us. How might knowing God is trustworthy give you hope? Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. Psalm 146:3 (NIV)