Toure Roberts - 3 Ways to Heal a Disappointed Heart

I received a whole message about it, literally titled «The Gift of Disappointment.» I have a complete message because God showed me something right there in that text that I want to reveal to you. However, I realize that if I don’t start working on your heart, you won’t even receive the word you want to hear. So, I want to work it backwards and call it out from the start. I get it; I know what it’s like to be disappointed. Watch this. I know what it’s like to put your faith in something, and listen, faith isn’t cheap. Let’s just keep that in mind. When people keep pretending, I mean, has anyone ever believed something against all odds? That’s expensive because it means you have to cut off sight and believe in what isn’t there. When you do that and end up disappointed, it’s hard to get back in the game. I just want to love on you for a minute. There is a reality about disappointment and a reality about hope deferred. So, you might think that when you are disappointed, it means something bad happened to you, but what if, in some crazy way and in the brilliance of God, disappointment was for your development? What if, in some crazy way— and I know it’s hard to see it or to find the light when you’re standing in it— I do not want to be insensitive because it feels horrible. It’s natural to be sick when you’re disappointed. It’s natural to feel down when something happens. And I hear the Lord saying that the only reason I would allow you to be disappointed to the point it makes you sick is because I believe I can heal it. And not just heal it to get you back to where you were, but to heal you in a way that you’ve never experienced before. Let it out right here; let it out because this is the process of getting our hearts right. See, religion won’t let you do that. Religiously, you have to be saved, filled with the Holy Ghost, and blessed and highly favored. I said, «How are you doing?» «No, how about I’m jacked up, messed up, hurt, angry, bitter, and mad at God?» And God says, «Now we can do business.» Some of your hearts are so sick you can’t even cry. If that’s you, come here. Get as close as you can. Just let me handle this; we can figure it out later. If that’s you, just come here. One of my pastors, please come here. Come on, get close; get closer. You thought you were by yourself? That was a lie. You thought you were the only one disappointed? You’re not the only one whose hope has been deferred. Look around the whole room; there are probably about 300 more people who need to be down there too, but won’t come because they’re stuck— not in judgment, just stuck, frozen by disappointment. Come here, come here. If you’re watching online, you come here too— in your own way. Let’s open up. You see? We got you; we’re in the chat, praying with you, praying for you. I just want to pray for you. I won’t lie; I cannot fix it for you, but I can let you know I see it, and I can pray for you. Sometimes half the battle is being seen. Sometimes half the battle is being seen. That’s what Hagar had. God gave Hagar a new name. She gave God a name that we don’t often use; we know Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Shalom, Elohim, and El Shaddai. We’re familiar with all those names— Yahweh, Jesus—but she gave him a name, and Hagar had a very interesting story full of rejection. Oh, he talked about hope deferred, making the heart sick, right? She got celebrated; you know the story. Study it when you get a chance, read your whole Bible and find it. She gets celebrated as the one who’s going to bring Abraham his son to carry on his lineage. She gets celebrated. «Hey God, come on, yeah!» Hagar, Abraham, and Sarah— you know the story. She gets celebrated— «Come on, girl, you’re in with the kid, you’re in with Abraham.» I’m balling rich, and Sarah’s cool with it. I mean, she has the baby, but then they turn on her. So, she leaves, and God meets her and tells her to go back. So, yes, hope deferred makes the heart sick. But the name that she gave him when she was away crying, she called him El-Roi. I want you to know, if your heart is sick, first of all, I see you. And not just as a distant bystander, but as someone who is near. God sees you and is near. God’s got a strategy and a plan, and I hear God saying just keep looking at me. Just keep looking at me, just keep looking at me. I don’t know—look at this, just keep looking at me. Just keep looking at you; just keep, just keep, just keep looking at me. I can’t heal it, but I can let you know that God sees it, and that God isn’t going to leave you in it. He did not turn his back on you. Even Jesus, even Jesus on the cross experienced that. Talk about hope deferred making the heart sick! How do you go from «Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do»?