Disappointment

Have you disappointed? In some situation, in a person, in an organization? I think that probably all of us have been disappointed at one time or another. Someone tells you that they will contact you, then they don't. The interviewer tells you that they will get back to you about the job, then they don't. You have high hopes to get into a certain school, then you are turned down. You put all your trust in a government, a president, a governor and then they don't quite live up to your expectations. You love and trust someone in a relationship and then they do something that lets you down.

Yes, we have all faced disappointment at one time or another. Perhaps it is just the disappointment of not getting the certain toy or gift that you wanted as a child. I can remember as a child, standing at the door of the house, looking out the screen door, waiting to see a certain person walk up the steps to the door, only to not have that happen. Disappointment.

Why does it happen? Sinfulness. We are sinful people, living in a sinful world. No matter how good, true and honorable our intentions, each of us is still a sinner. We will disappoint someone and they will disappoint us. It will happen again and again.

There were some that were greatly disappointed people on that 1st day of the week so many years ago (the day we call Easter). Why were they disappointed? Because it didn't go the way they expected. They knew that the body of Jesus had been placed in the grave. They knew that there was a stone at the mouth of the tomb. They knew that there were guards placed outside the tomb in order to keep people from getting into the tomb. Why did they know this? Because they were the ones who did it. The chief priests and the Pharisees did not want the body of Jesus to be taken by the disciples or some other fanatical person. So they made the tomb as secure as they knew how.

Come that Sunday morning, they were disappointed. An angel came and rolled back the stone. The guards fell down as though dead. And Jesus walked out of the tomb. (All right, we don't know that He walked out. It is safe to say that He was no long dead in the tomb.) He was alive. And they were disappointed.

Another one that was disappointed? Satan. He wanted Jesus to remain dead. He wanted to defeat the Son of God. And he didn't. He did NOT defeat the Son of God by having Him put to death on the cross. Instead, he sealed his own fate. For not only did Jesus die, but He rose from the dead on the 1st day. To say that Satan was disappointed is probably a huge understatement. He was crushed!

Jesus rose from the dead. He is alive today! He lives! For me, there is no disappointment in Christ. I look at Him and know that no matter how often I disappoint other and they disappoint me, all is forgiven in Christ. He has brought forgiveness to each of us. In Him there is no disappointment - only truth, forgiveness, life and eternity.

Yes, others will disappoint you. They will disappoint me. You will disappoint others. I will disappoint others. The joy we have is that we are given forgiveness through a risen and living Lord Jesus Christ. In Him, there is no disappointment at all. In Him is life!

I give thanks to God for the faith, forgiveness and life that I have been given in the risen Jesus Christ. No disappointment there!