Partnership was promised, now they're backtracking

When I joined 4 years ago, the owner promised me a partnership track. "Give it 5 years and we'll talk about buying in." Now I'm approaching year 5 and when I brought it up, he said "the practice isn't in a position for that right now" and changed the subject. I feel like I've been strung along. Should I confront him directly or just start looking elsewhere? I'm pissed but don't want to make things awkward if I stay.