I've lived long enough to have spent time around a number of disenfranchised, disheartened, broken people ... some of them Christians. So many people have felt let down by parents, a spouse, friends, an employer, a human establishment, opportunity, or in the case of some Christians even ... ... God?
In the case of those living a life solely focused on the world, their disappointment is understandable. Living in the world we have a tendency to find ourselves at least somewhat reliant on people and establishments that are themselves less than perfect and subject to potential failures and it's a given than none of us are perfect. So the flaws of broken people have a tendency show themselves at times to contribute to the dark cloud of occasional disappointments.
Disappointed Christians on the other hand, who believe in and place their trust in the God of the bible are doing so in the belief of a perfect, omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent being ... so where does their disappointment come from? The God of the bible is all-knowing, everywhere, all-powerful and perfect - without human flaws or the possibility of doing wrong. So what gives?
I think disappointment in the life of a Christian may come primarily from three things...
One of them being that we don't necessarily know or understand what the greater mind and wisdom of God is, or what He sees at any time, in what He's doing from His perspective. We believe in a being far superior to ourselves, so we shouldn't be surprised to find ourselves confused or not understanding what He does or allows at times. But even in those moments, trusting Him is an imperative and remembering that He is all that He is - all of the time, is critical. He doesn't change and what He's said is always true. Knowing the fullness of what Hes said, brings us comfort for those reasons ... and doubting Him - failing to continue to trust and believe Him, is to disrespect Him...
"“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9 (NLT)
I think another reason that some Christians may find themselves subject to occasional disappointment might center around the word "economy". We live in a world fascinated and overwhelmingly consumed by the word economy. A strong economy brings hope or at least the potential for the possibility of worldly gain, but Father God's economy doesn't give much credence, if any, to perishing value. We may have learned about some of the wonderful and reassuring promises that Father God's made either through our own diligent study or by hearing them, but sometimes the word "prosper" doesn't mean what we, surrounded by the world, might be tempted to think. Father God's prosperity is invested in holiness and values that give life ... for eternity. To have His perspective of prosperity requires understanding what He values ... and that is the key to a whole different economic system. "Economy" - His eternally.
The last of the three I mentioned is actually just two letters - the letter I followed closely by the letter F. "IF". They're two letters that have an incredible wealth of inhuman power and are the key to unlocking unimaginable wealth - "If...", "If you...", "If my people ...". They're almost always followed not long after in scripture with the words "then I will ...". They're everywhere in scripture and indicate an opportunity to prosper in ways that we don't deserve, but because we serve a God who loves us so dearly as His children, He makes generous contracts with us despite our unworthiness - but those two letters, "If", are absolute qualifiers!
Father God is true to His word - He doesn't cheat in either direction on His promises. In other words, He won't fail to hold up His end of the bargain if you do what He requires, but don't expect the fruit of that promise if you don't. He's perfectly righteous - He doesn't lie. There's absolutely no question that the Father-Of-All-Fathers wants to bless His children, the question is ... do we allow Him to? Knowing the contractual requirements and keeping them to allow ourselves the benefit of His promises, is just as important as knowing the promises themselves. The promises are popular and we may know them, but how well do we know the requirements - better still ... do we fulfill them?
The difference between blessing and disappointment in our lives as followers of Christ is dependent far more on us than on our God. Solid contract's have been offered on many occasions - our response is the only thing in question. What we're looking for from our God may have already been offered ... waiting on our proper response.
"No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8 (NLT)
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