If you’re anything like me, you get disappointed often: not only by society, but also by your friends and family.
If you’re anything like me, you are optimistic about people: you see the potential in everyone around you to be good – to have the desire to do the right thing.
If you’re anything like me, you have spent your whole life putting your faith in the people around you. You put faith if your mother and your dad to want what’s best for you – to put you before them.
If you’re anything like me, you looked up to your older siblings – expected them to look out for you, to have your best interests in mind, and to protect you from the world they knew.
If you’re anything like me, you put your faith in your teachers to try their best to be fair – to model the kind of behavior they expected of you.
If you’re anything like me, you’ve been watching society the past few years and waiting for it to get better, because it has to, right? They have to see that what they are doing is wrong and change, right?
If you’re anything like me, you’re the kind of person who will drop everything to be there for a friend in need – because that’s what friends are supposed to do, right? And because of the kindness of your own heart, you expect the same in return.
If you’re anything like me, I’m sorry. You must get let down a lot more than you deserve.
You are a good person. You’re probably a more empathetic person than most and, as a result, have more compassion for the people around you. I’m sorry, because I know it sucks caring about others more than they could possibly ever care for you.
No one will understand the burden we bear, unless they are like us.
However, you can’t blame society, or your friends, or your family for not being as good as you think they should be. You can’t put your faith in the people around you, because they will never match your impossible expectations.
They can’t – they are human. And, by design, deeply and irrevocably flawed. The more you put your faith in someone, the more you will be let down.
“That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:5
The only person who will never let you down is God. For He is perfect and, if you seek Him, He will not fail you, even if you do not understand His plan for you.
We cannot depend on people to understand how we feel, or to make us happy – that is a task that can only be accomplished by God, for only He knows the true desires of our hearts.
So, do not be discouraged by people. Have understanding that they cannot fulfill you. They cannot offer you all that you need or want.
If you’re anything like me, be encouraged in knowing that, by putting your faith in God and only in God, you can never be disappointed, because His plan for your life is perfect.
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
"More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5:1-5