When God Lets You Down

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Miss Me Much?

First, let me say how sorry I am to have taken so long to continue this blog. I’ve allowed myself to get a little too busy and, to be honest, my energy level hasn’t recovered. Someone told me that low energy is due to grieving not old age, so I’m going with that! Just to make up for my absence, this article is so long it will be split into three parts. You’re welcome!

What Do You Do When God Lets You Down?

Obviously, this year has been filled with disappointment. Not only for me but for many of my friends. How should we deal with it? Do you live in denial? Some Christians act like it’s a sin to admit you’re disappointed with God. Instead, we should stifle our emotions and carry on like good Christian soldiers because anything that looks like a lack of faith is, well, a lack of faith. I would not agree with that mindset. I believe God is big enough to handle the truth that there are circumstances in my life that don’t line up with the dreams he’s given me and I am disillusioned. There are things I’ve been desperate for that failed to come through and I’ve felt like He’s let me down.

So what do you do? How does a person of faith handle disappointment with the object of their faith? Unfortunately, many people will turn away from God. I don’t believe this is ever the best response. It is, in truth, the absolute worst response because it alienates us from the only person who can help us.

I think the following examples from scripture are helpful. They illustrate differing responses to the discouragement that sets in when God doesn’t show up in the way we would like.

Can You At Least Serve?

Can you make yourself go through the motions of faith even when you don’t feel like it? I know it sounds wrong but sometimes we need to fake til we make it.

My first illustration is from the first chapter in Luke. We are told of Zechariah and Elizabeth – two righteous people who have aged out of the baby making game. However, Zechariah continues his service as a priest in the temple and happens to be chosen to enter the temple to perform the duties of lighting the incense. After an extensive “cleansing” to prepare to enter the sacred space of God’s presence, Zechariah goes about performing his duties where he encounters Gabriel the angel who informs him his prayer has been heard and he will have a son. Now I don’t read Greek but I’ve been told the tense of that word “prayer” is more like “the prayer you’ve quit praying.” This makes a lot of sense to me when I read Zechariah’s response, “How can I be sure of this?” If Zechariah had still been actively praying for a child, his response wouldn’t have demanded proof. As you read the story, you find that Zechariah and Elizabeth do indeed have a child.

What stands out to me in this story is even though Zechariah had given up on God fulfilling his desire for a child, he kept serving. His bitterness almost cost him everything but God kept him from aborting the answer to his prayers by keeping him from being able to speak for nine months (our words have power). My point is: the answer came while he continued to serve even though he no longer trusted. Can we at least serve even when we don’t understand? It’s not the best option but it keeps us close to God until an answer comes.

Stay tuned. The next two articles will continue this series.

Prayer Matters

Unforgiveness and offense are lethal to faith. I’m praying God will reveal any areas where we’ve harbored unforgiveness whether it’s against him or a person who’s let us down. I pray he will highlight all bitterness and give us the tools to root it out before it nullifies the good God wants to do for us.

Thanks for reading my blog. What about you? What are you praying for? Share by commenting or you can contact me privately with any prayer concerns at pastorn1975@gmail.com .

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