Welcome to Pamoja Podcast, a ministry of Life
of Christ International where we build stronger
lives, deeper faith, and Christ -centered homes.
One story, one message, and one revelation at
a time. I'm your host, Barry Mwamba. Today we
continue our series, When the Strong Get Tired.
Over the last four episodes, we have been exposing
some of the hidden battles that quietly weaken
strong believers. Battles that often happen long
before a person falls. Long before a marriage
breaks. Long before a ministry collapses. Long
before faith begins to fade. In episode one,
we talked about physical exhaustion. How fatigue
has become one of the enemy's most sophisticated
weapons. How many believers are not under attack
because they are weak, but because they are tired.
Tired minds. Tired bodies. Tired emotions. Tired
spirits. In episode two, we talked about spiritual
weariness, the danger of losing our awe of God,
the danger of continuing religious activities
while our hearts quietly drift away from His
presence. Because people rarely abandon God suddenly,
most people drift away gradually. In episode
3, we discovered that many strong people become
trapped by shame. Not trapped because God abandoned
them, but trapped because they believed their
failure was greater than God's mercy. Then in
episode 4, we explored how great people quietly
fall. We learned that education may elevate you,
talent may position you, opportunity may promote
you, anointing may open doors. But only character
can sustain what God gives you, because blessings
without character eventually become burdens.
And today, we arrive at another battlefield,
one that has wounded countless believers. One
that has quietly weakened many strong Christians.
One that few churches talk about. Today I want
to talk about when the strong get tired. Episode
5. The weight of disappointment. Because sometimes
the greatest battles are not the ones we fight
against sin. Sometimes the greatest battles are
the ones we fight after being wounded by people
we trusted. The disappointment that comes when
people fail us. When leaders fail us. When friends
betray us. When family members hurt us. When
church members wound us. When people we trusted
break our confidence. And before we go any further,
I want to ask you a question. Who disappointed
you? Who hurt you? Who betrayed you? Who lied
about you? Who rejected you? Who wounded your
heart? Because every person listening to me today
has somebody. A friend. A family member. a church
member, a spouse, a pastor, a leader, a co -worker.
Someone whose name still produces pain. Someone
you avoid. Someone you don't want around you.
Someone you still struggle to forgive. Maybe
it happened yesterday. Maybe last year. Maybe
20 years ago. But if we're not careful, that
disappointment can become one of the most effective
weapons of the enemy. Because the enemy understands
something. If he cannot stop people from coming
to Christ, he will try to make Christ's representatives
disappoint them. And throughout history, he has
done exactly that. We have seen false teachers,
manipulative leaders, financial scandals, sexual
scandals, church politics, hypocrisy, spiritual
abuse, power struggles. And every time one of
those things is exposed, people walk away. Some
leave church. Some leave ministry. Some leave
prayer. Some leave God altogether. But listen
carefully. The enemy's goal was never merely
to corrupt one leader. The goal was to wound
the faith of thousands. The goal was never merely
to expose one hypocrite. The goal was to convince
people that everyone is a hypocrite. And suddenly,
a person's disappointment with a pastor becomes
disappointment with God. A person's frustration
with a church becomes frustration with Christ.
A person's wound becomes unbelief. That is how
the enemy plants seeds, not always through temptation,
sometimes through disappointment. But disappointment
itself is not the greatest danger. Bitterness
is. Disappointment is the wound. Bitterness is
the infection. A wound can heal. An infection
spreads. And this is why Hebrews 12 -15 warns
us, See to it that no bitter root grows up to
cause trouble and defile many. Notice that Scripture
does not warn us about disappointment. It warns
us about the root. Because roots grow underground,
quietly, silently, in darkness. And before we
know it, disappointment becomes resentment. Resentment
becomes bitterness. Bitterness becomes distance
from God. And distance from God becomes spiritual
fatigue. Maybe you still attend church. Maybe
you still worship. Maybe you still serve. Maybe
you still pray. But underneath the surface, there
is a root. A root fed by memories. A root fed
by pain. A root fed by disappointment. And that
root is changing you. Maybe you no longer trust
people. Maybe you struggle to celebrate others.
Maybe you replay old conversations. Maybe you
secretly enjoy seeing someone fail. Maybe you
cannot hear their name without anger rising inside
you. Maybe you still dream about what happened
years ago. Those are warning signs. Because disappointment
left untreated becomes resentment. Resentment
left untreated becomes bitterness. And bitterness
left untreated becomes distance from God. Let's
look at three men who walked with Jesus. Three
men who experienced disappointment. Three men
who teach us what disappointment tries to do
to every believer. First, Judas. Somewhere along
the journey, disappointment entered his heart.
His expectations no longer aligned with God's
plan. Things were not unfolding the way he thought
they should. Instead of bringing that disappointment
into the light, he allowed it to grow in darkness.
Disappointment became resentment. Resentment
became bitterness. Bitterness began poisoning
his heart. That is what bitterness does. It destroys
a person from the inside before anyone notices
it on the outside. Now look at Thomas. Thomas
watched Jesus die. the one he trusted, the one
he followed, the one he believed would change
everything. Suddenly all hope seemed lost. Disappointment
produced doubt. How many believers are there
today? Not bitter, not rebellious, simply disappointed.
And because they are disappointed, they struggle
to believe again. Then there is Peter. Peter's
disappointment was different. Peter was disappointed
in himself. He promised Jesus he would never
deny him. Yet he denied him three times. The
weight of that failure crushed him. After the
resurrection, Peter returned to fishing. Back
to what he knew. Back to his old life. That is
what disappointment often tries to do. It tries
to pull us back. Back into old habits. Back into
old identities. Back into old ways of living.
But Jesus came looking for Peter. Peter drifted.
Thomas doubted. Judas became bitter. Yet Jesus
pursued the ones willing to be restored. Because
disappointment wants to create distance between
us and God. But Jesus keeps coming after us.
And perhaps no biblical character answers this
better than Job. If anyone had a reason to become
bitter, it was Job. He lost his children, his
wealth, his health, his reputation, his security.
Then his friends arrived, not to comfort him,
but to accuse him. They added accusation to pain,
judgment to suffering, disappointment to heartbreak.
Yet Job refused to allow disappointment to become
bitterness. Did he cry? Yes. Did he question?
Yes. Did he struggle? Yes. But he never abandoned
God. Instead of allowing disappointment to drive
him away from God, he allowed disappointment
to drive him deeper into God. And eventually
God restored him. That is the question for all
of us today. Is your disappointment driving you
away from God or deeper into God? I learned this
lesson personally. When I was around 18 years
old, one of my closest friends lied about me.
I was deeply disappointed, deeply wounded, deeply
hurt. And without realizing it, the disappointment
started producing something dangerous, bitterness.
I replayed the situation in my mind again and
again and again. The anger grew, the resentment
grew, the rejection grew, the desire for revenge
grew, and what I thought was justice was actually
bitterness taking root. Bitterness behaves like
an underground root system. It grows quietly
in darkness, but eventually destroys everything
above the surface. It changes how you see people,
how you see leaders. how you see church, how
you see God. And that is the danger. The person
who hurt you may have moved on. The person who
disappointed you may not even remember what they
did. The person who wounded you may already be
living their life. But you are still carrying
the weight. And many believers think the person
is their problem. The real problem is the root.
Because bitterness does not imprison the person
who hurt you, it imprisons you. Bitterness steals
joy. Bitterness steals peace. Bitterness steals
intimacy with God. Bitterness steals spiritual
sensitivity. Bitterness steals freedom. That
is why the enemy loves disappointment. Not because
of the event. Because of the root he hopes it
will produce. And perhaps that is why so many
strong believers become tired. Not because they
stopped loving God. But because they have been
carrying bitterness for years. One night while
praying, the Holy Spirit revealed what was happening
inside my heart. I cried. I repented. I asked
him to help me forgive. Not formally. Not religiously,
genuinely, from my heart. Then something happened.
Something I have never forgotten. I felt something
leave my heart. The heaviness disappeared. The
bitterness left. The resentment left. The anger
left. And suddenly, peace entered. Freedom entered.
Joy entered. I started smiling. I could not explain
it. It felt as if heaven had poured something
over my soul. The Bible calls it the oil of joy.
The oil that heals wounded hearts. The oil that
restores what bitterness tried to destroy. The
oil that breaks emotional chains. The oil that
replaces heaviness with freedom. The next day
I went to see my friend and told him, I forgive
you. And that day I learned one of the greatest
lessons of my Christian life. Forgiveness is
not for the person who hurt you. Forgiveness
is for the freedom of your own heart. Because
disappointment can wound you, but bitterness
will imprison you. And forgiveness breaks the
prison. So let me ask you again, who are you
carrying? Whose offense are you still carrying?
Whose betrayal are you still carrying? Whose
rejection are you still carrying? Whose disappointment
are you still carrying? Because some of you have
carried it for years, and what began as a wound
has become a root. What began as disappointment
has become bitterness. And the Holy Spirit is
speaking to some hearts right now, not to condemn
you, not to shame you, not to expose you, but
to heal you. Because what bitterness builds Forgiveness
can destroy. What resentment has planted, the
Holy Spirit can uproot. What disappointment has
wounded, God can heal. Now think about Esau.
Esau had every reason to hate Jacob, every reason.
Jacob deceived him. Jacob stole from him. Jacob
betrayed his trust. Years later, Jacob approached
him trembling with fear, expecting revenge, expecting
judgment, expecting retaliation. Instead, Esau
ran toward him, embraced him. forgave him, forgiveness
won. Think about David. Saul hunted him, chased
him, tried repeatedly to kill him. Then David
found himself standing over Saul in a cave. One
moment, one decision, one opportunity for revenge.
But David refused. He chose mercy over bitterness.
He chose God's heart over wounded emotions. He
refused to allow resentment to cloud his soul.
Think about the father of the prodigal son, rejected,
embarrassed. publicly disappointed, wounded by
the very son he loved. Yet he never stopped waiting,
never stopped loving, never stopped hoping. Disappointment
did not produce bitterness, it produced mercy.
And above all, think about Jesus, betrayed by
Judas, denied by Peter, abandoned by his disciples,
rejected by his own people, crucified by those
he came to save. Yet from the cross he said,
Father forgive them. Jesus chose forgiveness
over disappointment. Mercy over resentment. Love
over bitterness. And perhaps that is the greatest
lesson of all. The enemy wants disappointment
to produce bitterness, but God wants disappointment
to produce forgiveness. Because where forgiveness
flows, healing follows. And where healing follows,
the oil of joy returns. Maybe today, God is not
asking you to change churches. Maybe he is not
asking you to leave relationships. Maybe he is
not asking you to run away. Maybe he is asking
you to forgive. Maybe your next breakthrough
is not in a new place. Maybe it is in a healed
heart. Maybe your freedom is waiting on the other
side of forgiveness. Let us pray. Father, in
the name of Jesus, I pray for every wounded believer,
every disappointed heart, every person carrying
resentment, every person carrying bitterness,
every person who has been hurt by family, friends,
church members, leaders, or people they trusted.
Father, expose every bitter root hidden in our
hearts. heal every wound, break every chain of
resentment, release every prisoner of unforgiveness.
Pour upon your people the oil of joy, the oil
that heals, the oil that restores, the oil that
replaces heaviness with peace, the oil that restores
what bitterness tried to destroy. Give us the
grace to forgive, the strength to release offenses,
and the wisdom to protect our hearts. Keep our
eyes fixed on Jesus. Strengthen those who are
tired. Restore those who are wounded. and remind
us that you remain faithful even when people
fail. In Jesus' name, amen. Don't just live life,
live it with purpose. God bless you and welcome
to the journey.