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And patience produces character, and character produces hope. And this hope will never disappoint us, because God has poured out his love to fill our hearts. He gave us his love through the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to us. Romans 5:4-5 (NCV)
Disappointment comes into our lives in a variety of ways. Our disappointments can be minor and only affect our lives for a few moments, or major disappointment can change the course of our lives forever.
How we handle disappointment depends on many factors such as our emotional well-being, the size of the disappointment and any physical or financial impact it can have on our lives.
The size of our disappointment and how we handle it is largely dependent on hope. Hope is based on expectations and desire. The more we cherish something the more we ‘hope’ to have it come true, last longer, or be a part of us. The size and effect of our disappointment is dependent on what we have our hope based on.
We can put our hope on a relationship, but relationships are made of people and people are human and humans fail.
We can place our hope on special interests or politics, but politics are as fickle as the people who make them up.
We can place our hope on money, but as many have found out lately, you can work your whole life to amass a nice retirement account and see it flitter away in the winds of health, economic disaster or divorce.
Some place their hope in religion, but religion is nothing more than a set of rules based on false hopes and expectations. Some have even placed their hope on God and been disappointed because he didn’t deliver as they ‘hoped’ he would.
Disappointment is a fact of life and no matter how you live you will encounter disappointment. How disappointment affects you isn’t dependent on what happened to cause the disappointment but on what you have your hopes based on. Base your hopes on anything other than the promises of God given through his son Jesus Christ and disappointment will be harsh and perhaps even fatal. Hope placed on God is hope based on someone who has never ever failed and knows what is best for us.
I don’t always understand why God does what he does. I’ve been disappointed countless times. Disappointed in myself, in others and in life’s circumstances. But when measured up against God’s promises those disappointments are easier to bear.
One other thing that makes disappointment easier to bear is patience. The Apostle Paul writes, “Patience produces character which produces in us a hope that will never leave us disappointed.” I am learning that if I patiently wait for God to do his work my hopes will be realized and my disappointments will be less severe. I can be patient when I hope in God because the outcome is no longer in my hands or the hands of others, but in a God of mercy, grace and power who is passionately in love with me.
PRAYER: Father God. Life seems to be on disappointment after another. Unanswered prayer, relational disaster, financial calamity, political and natural disasters seem rampant. Empower me with your Spirit to put my hope in you and patiently wait for you to do what needs to be done. Help me to trust you as my only hope and salvation. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 1 John 3:1
Of all the promises God gives us, none is more precious, more powerful and more amazing than the fact that we are his children. Ponder that thought today. Say it slowly in your mind and contemplate its meaning.
‘I am God’s child. The Creator/sustainer of the universe is my dad.’
When you were in grade school and kids were getting to know you, a question that often came up was “So what does your dad do for a living?” The question was more than a casual one. You were, in a sense, judged by the answer. ‘My dad is a carpenter or my dad works at a gas station’ may not carry as much clout as ‘my dad is a doctor or lawyer or president of the United States.’ Your importance was determined by the value placed on what your father did and you were expected to behave according to that distinction.
Today it’s a bit harder to get the concept of fatherhood established. For one thing, many kids have fathers who are uninvolved in their lives or only see them on given days. The term ‘father’ has lost its luster due to divorce and the dysfunctional state of the family, especially in the USA. The fact that earthly father’s often fail us doesn’t change the character or meaning behind our Heavenly Father. He isn’t distracted by getting the lawn mowed or finishing some project at work. He’s not more interested in his golf score than your well-being. He can be trusted, counted on to always be there, to be a ‘man’ of action not words. Your Heavenly Father will do just exactly what he says he’ll do. He’ll take care of you and knows what is best for you. You can trust your Heavenly Father because you are his child.
I don’t know if the story is true or not. I heard it years ago, but true or not it gives us a perfect picture of how we can trust our Heavenly Father.
The story is told of a house that caught fire in the middle of the night. The parents made it out but were unable to reach their little boy on the second floor. When the fire fighters arrived they heard the boy calling for help from a second floor window. They tried to coax him to jump so they could catch him, but he didn’t recognize their voices and the smoke and darkness (not to mention fear) kept him from being able to see his rescuers.
Then, his father called to him and implored him to jump. Immediately the boy jumped into the darkness to be wrapped in the arms of his father. What made him jump? It was the assurance that his daddy lay on the other side of the darkness and his daddy could be trusted.
You are God’s child. The creator of the universe is your daddy. He chose to make you so. Live today in the assurance that your Father loves you, cares for you, is ready and willing to forgive you of anything in your life that will keep you from relationship with him. He is real. He is powerful. He passionately loves you.
PRAYER: Dear Dad, Much as I love my earthly father I have to confess there were times he didn’t understand me like you do. There are times as a parent I’ve failed my own children. I praise you for always being there for me. Forgive me for the times I’ve doubted you or rebelled against you. Help me to live in such a way that even though the world doesn’t know you, they will know I’m your kid. In Jesus name, Amen.
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fool. Romans 1:21-22
Relationship is an interesting thing. The more one puts into it, the more they get out of it. First of all, we need to define ‘relationship.’ In a relationship, both parties benefit from being together. If only one person’s needs are being met it’s not a relationship. It’s an arrangement.
It’s sad to say, but many marriages never get to the ‘relationship’ stage. As a result one person feels like they give and give and give with nothing in return. Eventually the stress is too much and divorce (either emotional or physical) happens.
The same is true in our spiritual lives with God. Many people believe in God or a god of some sort. But knowing God or about God and being in relationship with God are completely different. Compare it to a physical love relationship.
What does a perfect love relationship look like to you? Don’t you think constantly about the other person? You go to work. You go about the mundane tasks of life. You hang with friends, deliver the kids to soccer practice and fold the laundry. But in the back of your mind there is always that thought of the person you love.
The same is true in our spiritual lives. The God of the universe earnestly desires a passionate love relationship with you. But relationship with God, like any relationship is a two-way street. Our Father God has given everything for us, even his only Son, Jesus. What does he want in return? Our love. Love shown through obedience to the things we know we should do. Love that is shown through avoiding the things we know are wrong.
When love is given and not returned we call it being ungrateful. When we are ungrateful to God for his blessings it makes our hearts insensitive to his desire to draw us to himself. We show ingratitude by compartmentalizing our lives. God is good on Sundays. God is looked to in the face of adversity or severe trial. As one pundit remarked, “When a jetliner is going down, there are no atheists on board!”
The longer we live lives that are ungrateful to God, the more our hearts grow insensitive to God and his leading. Will God still bless us? Sometimes, but those blessings may not satisfy. We can receive outward blessing and still harbor inner turmoil. Turmoil that we seek to fill with other gods like financial security, new ‘relationships’, social action, or religion.
Your Father God in heaven is real. He earnestly desires to have a relationship, not an arrangement with you. Part of that process is showing him living gratitude in your thoughts, words and actions.
PRAYER: Father God. I don’t want to be one of those who never shows my gratitude for all you’ve done for me. Forgive me for following my own way and expecting your blessing when I’m really being ungrateful. Empower me with your Spirit to enter into a passionate love relationship with you. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 