Where Were You When?
Have you ever felt like God let you down? I think everyone eventually experiences a time in their life when God doesn’t seem to be doing what they hoped for. Honestly, Bert’s passing is just one of many disappointments I’ve had in my walk of faith. One thing I am determined to do is to be authentic with God about that. Often, when I’m disappointed with someone’s service or product, I won’t complain, I just won’t go there again. I can’t afford to cut ties with God! Hearing from him is my lifeline and I don’t want unspoken unhappiness to come between us. (Not to mention there are countless articles on the internet on how damaging living in denial can be – I’ve suffered enough self-inflicted damage, thank you very much!)
There are scores of people in the Bible who faced disappointing circumstances. I’m not postulating that God is a disappointing God but that often our expectations are based more on what we want than according to his will. Even when that’s the case, he often responds with grace. In this series, I’m looking at how people dealt with disappointment with God in the Bible. In my last article (click here to read Part 1), we looked at Zechariah’s disappointment over his unanswered prayer for a child and how he dealt with it.
Do You Complain When You Have A Grievance?
How do you handle poor service or a defective product? For years, I would never say anything to the people responsible but made sure all of my friends or acquaintances knew how unhappy I was. The only thing this accomplished was to heighten my dissatisfaction as I relived the poor experience. In essence, my lack of appropriate action ultimately resulted in increased unhappiness. May I say that I’ve matured (mostly) and I don’t think this is a good way of handling disappointment? Yes, let’s say that!
My second case of Biblical disappointment is out of the first chapter of Samuel. It’s the account of Hannah and her inability to have a child. To be barren back in the day was considered to be cursed by God. It didn’t help that Hannah’s sister-wife, Peninnah had children and constantly taunted her with that fact. (That’s right, the Mormons didn’t invent bigamy.) The story makes it clear Hannah believed God was responsible for her situation. However, even though she blamed God for closing her womb, Hannah’s response was to go to the temple and cry out to God anyway.
Once she poured out her heart, we are told her face was no longer “downcast.” In other words, she placed her pain in his hands and in its place, trust was restored. If you find yourself in a place where it feels as if God has failed you, take your anguish to him and be honest with him. He’s big enough to take it. The amazing thing about this story is that once Hannah trusts the God who has let her down, she receives the child she longed for.
It’s Not Always Sunshine And Lollipops
It doesn’t always end like that. But please note Hannah wasn’t at peace when she conceived, she was at peace after pouring out her heart. Once she felt “heard.” I encourage you to take your blame, complaint, grievance straight to God. Ask Him, “How could you let that happen?”, “Where were you?”, “Why didn’t you do something?” Pour out all the ugly that’s built up inside you at his feet. But once you’ve done that, listen for his response. It’s in the response that healing comes. He is the God of the great transfer. If you will trust him, he will take your pain and give you something better.
Prayer Matters
I’m praying God will refresh some of the dreams we’ve allowed to go dormant or even die because of a fear of disappointment. I’m praying for the ability to trust him with the most precious dreams, the courage to approach him and the discernment to recognize what is his will and what is not.
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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