How Disappointments Could Save Your Life

On March 10, 2019, the Ethiopian Airlines 737 crashed. Sadly, no one survived except for one man who missed his flight. Here’s a story of the man who was saved through disappointment and what we can learn about how God saves us by saying “no” to our prayers. 

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In the morning of March 10, the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 en route from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to Nairobi, Kenya crashed.

Sadly, no one survived the accident.

149 people died, including the eight crew. However, the death toll could have been 150 if Antonis Mavropoulos made it on time to catch his flight.

You see, Antonis, a Greek man, was supposed to be the 150th person in the airplane, except that he arrived 2 minutes later after the boarding gate closed. If he arrived on time, he could have been included in the airplane crash.

This is a blog about how God could save you from pain through disappointments.

In a Facebook post, Antonis said, “I was mad because nobody helped me to reach the gate on time.”

Like any of us, we could have felt the same way as Antonis – feeling disappointed, frustrated, and even angry for not being on time. Just imagine, he was only 2 minutes late.

The story of Antonis reminded me of Maarten de Jonge who also missed not one doomed flight, but two! He was supposed to take Flight MH 17, the airplane shot down over Eastern Ukraine in 2014, and Flight MH 370, which mysteriously disappeared over the Indian Ocean in the same year.

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Stories like these make me realize that sometimes, God uses disappointments to save us from danger and other unpleasant situations.

Think about the time when you missed the bus only to find out that the bus would later get in an accident.

Think about the time when your alarm didn’t go off only to know that a tornado would rage through your usual commute route.

Think about the many times that something is supposed to happen and yet you weren’t there just because something prevented you.

In this point, I want you to realize that when God says no, it is not because He doesn’t love you. It is not because He doesn’t care about you. It definitely doesn’t mean that you are not important to Him.

Sometimes, disappointments and frustrations are God’s way of redirecting your path.

If you didn’t get the promotion you’ve been praying for, there’s a reason for that. Perhaps, your new job would require you to work longer hours, bringing you farther away from God and your family.

If you didn’t get a car for your family, perhaps God is telling you that you are not ready yet for a car and it might lead to an accident.

If the woman you’ve been courting for many months now turned you down, perhaps, God is preparing someone who is way much better than her.

Just like Antonis and Maarten who missed their flights, there’s a reason that you didn’t get what you prayed for.

So many things happened in our lives that we thought are all bad situations. However, it could also be those same situations that have saved our lives.

We will come to a point in our life when we look back and understand why it all happened. Things will suddenly make sense.

God in His infinite wisdom can see the much bigger picture. He sees the grand scheme of life. He sees the totality of all the universe.

The good news is that God has your best interest in mind. The Bible tells us, “NO GOOD THING will He withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11).

If it is good for you and if it will help you fulfill your purpose, you can be sure that God will give it to you. If not, then God has a better plan.

So, the next time when disappointments come crashing down on you, remember that God has something better in store for you. Don’t feel depressed or angry. When God says “no,” you can have the full confidence that it is all for your own good.

Cheer up. God loves you so much that He gave up His Son to save us. God has already sacrificed so much for us to leave us hanging. He wouldn’t fail us now nor tomorrow nor next year.

Simply, stand still and be prepared for the awesome future God has prepared for you!


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4 thoughts on “How Disappointments Could Save Your Life

  1. Stumbled upon this blog today and what a fantastic find! This resonated deeply within me as I always try to keep that perspective: God uses disappointments to save us from danger and other unpleasant situations.

    • Yes, that’s correct, Chris! Sometimes, we simply don’t know how God has saved us a thousand times by redirecting our paths and sometimes, those redirection comes in the shape of disappointment. Thankfully, God is always in control who has our best interest in mind.

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