Everyone has undoubtedly experienced disappointment at some point. The job or promotion you didn't get, the house you wanted but didn't get, as well as the behavior of friends or even your children can be very disappointing.

But even in your Christian walk you will have to deal with disappointments, such as the people who did not come to believe despite your efforts, or the healing that did not take place, or the financial breakthrough that did not come, or the friends who turned their backs on you etc.

In all these situations it is important that we do not allow ourselves to deviate from our course. By that I mean the path that God has planned for us.

In 2 Timothy 4 we read a number of things that happened to the apostle Paul that certainly disappointed him.

He begins by telling Timothy in vers 9: “Come quickly to me, for Demas has forsaken me; he loved this world and went to Thessalonica. Crescens went to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. 11 Only Lucas stayed with me.

In verse 14 he goes on to say, “Alexander the coppersmith has done me much harm; the Lord will give him his due reward. 15 You also must beware of him, because he has strongly opposed our proclamation.

16 At my first defense no one stood by me, they all abandoned me. May it not be held against them.

Feeling alone in your beliefs is not a nice feeling, and yet we will experience it more and more, especially in these end times.

Last year I heard the Lord say that the church will be challenged to take a stand in times of great turmoil. That clear lines will become visible when our beliefs are challenged to the core.

What is our position? I believe that God's Word is our foundation and that Jesus is the cornerstone. Our beliefs flow from God's Word. The question is: how far are we willing to go to hold on to this?

Paul spoke of Demas who had forsaken him; and had come to love the world .

The world lures with its ideologies and philosophies. Society is changing and the church is seen as old-fashioned and uninteresting.

A disappointing development that has led many churches to reconsider their beliefs and adapt to the world.

This seems like a giant that is only getting bigger. He yells at us and demands that we give up and conform. He even hijacked the rainbow, which symbolizes God's grace and redemption for us, to represent the unnatural.

We will increasingly feel like we are going against the grain, and there will certainly be those who find it difficult to hold on to their beliefs.

The voices of the World will grow louder and try to scare us like Goliath did, but God always has the final say. He is the one who determines the outcome of the battle!

Isaiah 54:17 “Every weapon that is prepared against you will be of no use, and every tongue that rises up against you in judgment you will condemn. This is the inheritance of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is from Me, declares the LORD.”

We can let our disappointments grow like giants or we can take immediate action and not let it get to that point in the first place.

David was just a little boy, but one with great faith! Our disappointments will not move the hand of God, but our faith will.

Every disappointment demands a victory from us! You can give up and retreat, or you can remain steadfast in your faith.

Are you disappointed because your children no longer serve the Lord? Stand firm in faith.

Whether it's the healing you haven't received yet or the financial breakthrough, don't let your disappointment determine what your future will look like.

I know people whose disappointment in someone keeps them from going to church. What they don't realize is that only the enemy benefits from this.

It is not difficult to throw in the towel, but it is difficult to move on and hold on to the hope that God gives that everything will turn out well.

Without the hope that God gives us, we would still be caught up in the disappointments that try to rule our lives.

Psalm 37:34
“Put your hope in the LORD and stay on the path He shows you…”

What path are you on now? One of disappointment or one of hope?

Do the disappointments seem to have grown into giants, or have you overcome them?

In 2 Timothy 4:17 the apostle Paul ends his message with the words: “But the Lord was with me and strengthened me, so that I might finish preaching the message, and all the nations would hear it. I was saved from the lion's mouth. 18 The Lord will save me from all evil and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. Him comes all the honor in all eternity. Amen.

People will disappoint us, society will demand that we conform, friends will turn their backs on us, but God will be with us and give us strength to bring the message to a good end.