Reframing Disappointment:
How Unmet Longings Point Us to Heaven
by Macie Moseley
I hate to admit it, but I often find myself face to face with disappointment. Without realizing it, I create unreasonable expectations in almost every aspect of my life. Even though I know I’m imperfect, I feel disappointed when I make mistakes. I have a supportive community and faithful friends in my life, yet I experience disappointment in my relationships when I feel misunderstood. I’m married to a sweet, thoughtful, and funny man, but my marriage doesn’t satisfy my every longing and desire.
When these feelings begin to creep in, I find myself thinking, There’s got to be more than this.
And then I remember—there is!
For followers of Christ, this broken world is not our home. It’s a glorious place where God’s image bearers dwell, but it’s also a dark place where the decay of sin and death run rampant.
My marriage doesn’t satisfy my every longing and desire.
Our culture tells us, “You only live once,” and encourages us to live our “best life now.” But the truth is that as followers of Jesus, our best life is still to come—in heaven.
God created us for more than this earthly life. The reality we are living in today is not all there is—and that is actually good news. Second Corinthians 4:16–18 puts it this way: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
This broken world is not our home.
God intends for us to spend eternity with him in perfect glory—our forever home in heaven. The life we live now is our preseason game, our twice-a-day practice, our dress rehearsal. God is using our earthly lives to prepare us for heaven by making us more like him, and he uses disappointment to point us toward true satisfaction found in him alone. These unmet longings point us to the promise of the wholeness and perfection we will ultimately experience in eternity.
“’He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4).
Nineteenth-century theologian Charles Spurgeon summed it up like this: “Life is dear, but God’s love is dearer. To dwell with God is better than life at its best.” Every pang of disappointment we feel now will be erased when we meet Jesus face-to-face. We don’t have to strive to live our best life now, because even the greatest joys and moments of bliss we experience on earth pale in comparison with how inexplicably good eternal life with Jesus will be. And that brings me hope on the hard days.
Macie Moseley is a writer, twenty-something, and new mom who is passionate about fostering authentic connections. @maciemose @messagefrommace
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the New International Version of the Bible.