I was asked if being disappointed in God meant that they
were an immature Christian and if it also meant that they had little faith? I
am here to tell you that being disappointed is not a sign of immaturity and it
definitely doesn’t mean that you have little faith, because trust me big faith
people have found themselves disappointed with God’s decisions that have been
made where they are concerned.
King David is a perfect example of one who found himself
disappointed with God and with what he was encountering.
Psalm 94 The Lord is a God
who avenges. O God who avenges, shine forth. Rise up, Judge of the earth;
pay back to the proud what they deserve. How long, Lord, will the wicked, how long will the wicked be jubilant? They
pour out arrogant words; all the evildoers are full of boasting. They
crush your people, Lord; they oppress your
inheritance. They slay the widow and the foreigner; they murder the
fatherless.
They say, “The Lord does not see; the God of Jacob takes no notice.
Psalm 44 begins
with an acknowledgement of what God had done for Israel in the past.
We have
heard it with our ears, O God; our ancestors have told us what you did in their
days, in days long ago. With your hand you drove out the nations and
planted our ancestors; you crushed the peoples and made our ancestors flourish.
It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm
bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your
face, for you loved them. You are my King and my God, who decrees
victories for Jacob. Through you we push back our enemies; through
your name we trample our foes. I put no trust in my bow, my sword does
not bring me victory; but you give us victory over our enemies, you put
our adversaries to shame. In God we make our boast all day long, and we
will praise your name forever. 
Yet it goes
on to speak of their disillusionment:
But now you have rejected and humbled us;
you no longer go out with our armies. You made us retreat before the enemy,
and our adversaries have plundered us. You gave us up to be devoured like sheep
and have scattered us among the nations. You sold your people for a pittance,
gaining nothing from their sale. You have made us a reproach to our neighbors,
the scorn and derision of those around us. You have made us a byword among the
nations; the peoples shake their heads at us. I live in disgrace all day
long, and my face is covered with shame at the taunts of those who
reproach and revile me, because of the enemy, who is bent on revenge. All
this came upon us, though we had not forgotten you;
we had not been false to your covenant. Our hearts had not
turned back; our feet had not strayed from your path. But you crushed us
and made us a haunt for jackals; you covered us over with deep darkness.
Hannah, the barren woman who had to watch her adversary
have child after child while her womb remained barren had several boughs of
disappointment. The bible says that Hannah had a “bitterness of soul” and wept
in anguish. (1 Samuel 1-2)
Naomi, Ruth’s
mother in Law lost husband and two sons and found herself alone. She suffered
disappointment. (Read Ruth)
Sarah suffered
disappointment with her closed womb being a derision to the other women. Here
she was the wife of the blessed father of many nations and she couldn’t bear
one child. (Genesis 12-21)
Job was clearly
disappointed. (Read the book of Job)
The good
news about the God we serve is the fact that He knows we are human and such
have human finite emotions. It is normal to have doubts, times of fear, and
pain by the circumstances we find ourselves in. Especially when you reflect
over all that led to your current situation and you can’t find anything you did
that has caused you to end up where you are. Don’t get me wrong this counsel is
not limited to those who didn’t necessarily make bad choices, because if you
did make some bad choices know that God will work it out!
One
important thing to remember about each one of the above individuals cited – it’s
not how you begin it’s how you end.
In each
instance there was a remembrance of what God had done and what God could do for
them. That is the important place for you, beloved, to reach. You must dig deep
within yourself and say as Job said, “Although you slay me, yet will I trust
you!” When you can’t hear from God, He seems silent .. you will still believe
in Him. When the pain intensifies, you will set your eyes on Him and call on
the Holy Spirit to get you through this time. At the end of the day each had to
find that special place of comfort in “accepting” what God was doing in their
life. James said count it all joy. He didn’t mean that you should be laughing
or be jubilant it’s more of an internal joy that God is at work working out His
perfect will, and while you may not understand what or why He’s doing it, you know
that God only wants the best for you.
Don’t
believe the hype that somehow you are less holy because you find yourself sometimes
at a dark place that only God can bring you out of. Being a Christian is not
easy. Anyone who tells you that it is – is lying to you. There is a daily
battle going on in the heavenly places for you mind, your sanity, and more importantly
your faith. They want nothing more than to get you to curse God.. don’t go
there.. stand strong!!
The promises
that we can stand on are:
·
God will not
put anything more on us than we can bear.
·
No good
thing will God withhold from those who walk upright.
·
Trust in the
Lord with all your heart and lead not to your own understanding and God will
direct your path.
·
God knows
the plans that He has for you. Plans for your good for an expected hope!
·
Be anxious
for nothing but with prayer and supplications with thanksgiving make your
request be made known unto God and the peace of God that surpasses all
understanding will guard your heart and mind through Christ Jesus!
·
All things
work together for the good for those who love the Lord and are the called
according to their purpose. So weep it you must, scream if you must, and sit quietly while listening to that still small voice knowing confidently, that He is God. Then through it all praise God in advance for the reprieve, the victory, the end of that journey.
Remember beloved you are more than a conqueror through Him who loves us!
No comments:
Post a Comment