February 17, 2016 DISAPPOINTED
Romans 10:11: “For the Scripture says, ‘WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPOINTED.”
We will all face disappointments, but how we handle disappointments is crucial. Disappointments not properly dealt with weakens or destroys vision and quells desire, which in turn causes one to withdraw to the side-line of life. Also, we can set ourselves up for needless disappointment by having improper or faulty expectations. How true it is that unmet expectations lead to disappointments. There is a certain amount of truth in the statement: “He who does not expect anything shall not be disappointed.” The first and most important factor in the matter disappointment is that of making sure our expectations are reasonable, healthy, and in keeping with what God says is true. For this reason, it is important for us to build our thinking and develop our view of life on what is taught in the scriptures; what God has said in the scriptures provides a sure and steadfast foundation upon which we can establish our thoughts and our lives. Our hope, our confidence, our peace, and our joy, is to be based on the faithfulness of God and that His ways are perfect, whether we understand it or not. There are numerous opportunities that can bring about disappointments. For example, I may expect a promotion at work, but when I am passed over for the promotion, I am disappointed. It would have been better to seek to know if it was God’s will for me to get the promotion, and if I could not determine that for sure, agree in advance that whether I got the promotion or not, God would use it for good. Disappointments may come when I ask God to heal someone, and He does not heal like I expected; I may expect my children to always be “godly”, but when they go astray, I’m disappointed; I may expect my spouse to make me happy, but when they don’t, I’m disappointed. As mentioned above, we will have some disappointments in life, but if we allow the disappointments to accumulate, we will find ourselves being AWOL in life and miss what God has for us. Sad to say, I have seen a number of believers quietly give up in their pursuit of God because of disappointments. Now, for the “hard” word for any who are living with disappointment: get over it! Many believers have become too soft-skinned. No one said the Christian life would be easy. God said to expect trials. Life is not all about us. God gave us the shield of faith for a reason. Yes, the enemy wants you defeated and discouraged. The Christian life is about growing, overcoming, forgiving, learning from our failures, learning to think like God, learning to represent Him and learning that all of His ways are just and right. Some think that ending prayer with “Thy will be done” is a cop out-a lack of faith. The truth is that we do not always know how to pray as we ought and we do not always know what to ask for; so saying to God, “Thy will be done” is the best possible way to end a prayer. Actually, asking that His will be done, is great faith-faith in the faithfulness of God to do what He deems to be best. Yes, we need to be bold, and God invites us to bring our request to Him, but we are to do so acknowledging His Lordship over our lives. The verse above says that “whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” It is assumed that what we believe about Him is according to scripture. If our belief is faulty, then the promise of not being disappointed may not be realized, because a faulty belief will lead to disappointments. Thus, we need to hear what is said in 2 Timothy 2:15: “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman who needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” The promise to us is that if we believe in Him, for who He is, for all that He has done and all that He is going to do, we will not be disappointed. It’s all about acknowledging His Lordship, His sovereignty, His love for us, and His promises that He has given to us. God can do no wrong. If we perceive that the word of God contradicts the experience of my life, then our perception is wrong and we are short-sighted. It is critical that we see what God says in scripture as a plumb line by which we are to adjust our thinking and our actions. Let us be wise when it comes to setting expectations and let us be alert to the consequences of living with unmet expectations.
James 4:15: “Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that.”
Blessings,
Buddy
Romans 10:11: “For the Scripture says, ‘WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPOINTED.”
We will all face disappointments, but how we handle disappointments is crucial. Disappointments not properly dealt with weakens or destroys vision and quells desire, which in turn causes one to withdraw to the side-line of life. Also, we can set ourselves up for needless disappointment by having improper or faulty expectations. How true it is that unmet expectations lead to disappointments. There is a certain amount of truth in the statement: “He who does not expect anything shall not be disappointed.” The first and most important factor in the matter disappointment is that of making sure our expectations are reasonable, healthy, and in keeping with what God says is true. For this reason, it is important for us to build our thinking and develop our view of life on what is taught in the scriptures; what God has said in the scriptures provides a sure and steadfast foundation upon which we can establish our thoughts and our lives. Our hope, our confidence, our peace, and our joy, is to be based on the faithfulness of God and that His ways are perfect, whether we understand it or not. There are numerous opportunities that can bring about disappointments. For example, I may expect a promotion at work, but when I am passed over for the promotion, I am disappointed. It would have been better to seek to know if it was God’s will for me to get the promotion, and if I could not determine that for sure, agree in advance that whether I got the promotion or not, God would use it for good. Disappointments may come when I ask God to heal someone, and He does not heal like I expected; I may expect my children to always be “godly”, but when they go astray, I’m disappointed; I may expect my spouse to make me happy, but when they don’t, I’m disappointed. As mentioned above, we will have some disappointments in life, but if we allow the disappointments to accumulate, we will find ourselves being AWOL in life and miss what God has for us. Sad to say, I have seen a number of believers quietly give up in their pursuit of God because of disappointments. Now, for the “hard” word for any who are living with disappointment: get over it! Many believers have become too soft-skinned. No one said the Christian life would be easy. God said to expect trials. Life is not all about us. God gave us the shield of faith for a reason. Yes, the enemy wants you defeated and discouraged. The Christian life is about growing, overcoming, forgiving, learning from our failures, learning to think like God, learning to represent Him and learning that all of His ways are just and right. Some think that ending prayer with “Thy will be done” is a cop out-a lack of faith. The truth is that we do not always know how to pray as we ought and we do not always know what to ask for; so saying to God, “Thy will be done” is the best possible way to end a prayer. Actually, asking that His will be done, is great faith-faith in the faithfulness of God to do what He deems to be best. Yes, we need to be bold, and God invites us to bring our request to Him, but we are to do so acknowledging His Lordship over our lives. The verse above says that “whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” It is assumed that what we believe about Him is according to scripture. If our belief is faulty, then the promise of not being disappointed may not be realized, because a faulty belief will lead to disappointments. Thus, we need to hear what is said in 2 Timothy 2:15: “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman who needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” The promise to us is that if we believe in Him, for who He is, for all that He has done and all that He is going to do, we will not be disappointed. It’s all about acknowledging His Lordship, His sovereignty, His love for us, and His promises that He has given to us. God can do no wrong. If we perceive that the word of God contradicts the experience of my life, then our perception is wrong and we are short-sighted. It is critical that we see what God says in scripture as a plumb line by which we are to adjust our thinking and our actions. Let us be wise when it comes to setting expectations and let us be alert to the consequences of living with unmet expectations.
James 4:15: “Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that.”
Blessings,
Buddy
RSS Feed