It has happened to all of us. Our dreams faded. If they did come true, things turned out not as great as imagined. Nothing lasted. The bouquet of a new relationship hid thorns and poison ivy. Our new boat wasn’t as fast as hyped. We planned a picnic and it poured.
Disappointments can dull our delight in doing deeds for God. Elijah: “It is enough, O Yahweh. Take my life; I am no better than my fathers.” Jesus: “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you?” People do not respond. People do not mature. People do not help. People gripe.
Friends may offer empty platitudes rather than trying to understand us: “You are all worthless physicians. O that you would be completely silent!” Leaders can disappear: “Make us godswho will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” Family may fail: “His own brothers did not believe in him.” Even Mother Nature may let us down. Desert nomads know where the wadis run. Should a caravan come to one without water, disaster looms. “My brothers have acted deceitfully like the torrents of wadis that vanish. The travelers of Sheba hoped for them. They were disappointed for they had trusted, they came there and were confounded.”
Well, this is all so positive and uplifting. Thanks, Pastor Russ, for such an encouraging Back Page.
But before you go, recall those things that do not disappoint. Testing produces perseverance, character, hope; “and hope does not disappoint us, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.” This hope anchors our souls, because the promising God is faithful. “The vision is yet for the appointed time; it hastens toward the goal and will not fail. Though it tarry wait for it, for it will certainly come.”
When we see heaven, when we see Jesus, we will not be disappointed that we gave up a few trinkets to know him and lay up treasure in his presence. “In you our fathers trusted and were not disappointed.” “Don’t envy sinners, but always continue to fear Yahweh. You will be rewarded for this; your hope will not be disappointed.” “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense; he who believes in him will not be disappointed.”
