I wrote the title of this small blog two years ago!

I was leading the Living Church Plant in North Belfast when we heard that the future of the Church Plant project was going to end.

I shared the news with our Living Room friends, those who came Sunday after Sunday and the feeling of sadness was evident. They could not understand why the Living Room could not be supported anymore in an area where churches are far and few!

One of our friends said to me: “surely that God is disappointed with the decision that was taken by the denomination to close the Living Room”. I did not have an answer at the time and I don’t want to share my thoughts about it just yet. But the idea of God being disappointed struck a chord with me.

Can God really be disappointed with us, when we tried to do His will? Was it His will after all the Living Room church plant? Can God be disappointed with me?

Personally, I matured through the Living Room years and the whole Church Plant experience and its failure, led me to a place where I can only thank God for the years lived with amazing people and working among an embracing community.

One thing I have learnt about the process of closing the Living Room is that God’s timing is Perfect, that we only see in part. We don’t know the whole picture and what we know is enough to sustain us.

Failures are an invitation to step up into a realm of new possibilities. It has the capacity to drag us down with the purpose of finding the strength, the faith and the hope of lifting us up. Is it painful? Yes, it is, and Jesus knows that well.

I realise that failures are painful and difficult experiences to deal with. I want you to know that God is not disappointed with you. He will never be.

Throughout the process of the Living Room closure, I had only one verse that got me through: “And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him, I am well pleased.”” (Matthew 3:17 NIV11-GKE)