Disappointment and a response to it.

People will disappoint you. I say that not because of the recent situations that have happened, though I would be deceptive if I said that did not also have something to do with my thoughts. I say that because it is true.

Think about it. That disappoint started with Adam and Eve. They had it made. They walked and talked with God Himself! Seriously. How much better could it be than that? But they disappointed. Following the deception of of Satan, they ate the fruit. Really? Fruit is better than a perfect relationship with God? When all was said and done, Adam must have been disappointed that Eve had listened to the serpent. Eve must have been disappointed that Adam did not fulfill his role as head of the family and didn't stop her.

Fast forward through time to other incidents in the Bible. Abraham says Sarah is his sister rather than his wife. What? You can't even stand up and be a man, accepting that others might not like the fact that Sarah is yours and yours alone? What kind of a man are you? David lusted after Bathsheba, took her, got her pregnant then killed her husband. Wow. I can't imagine how that must have disappointed so many people. Sure, it's good to be the king. But to act in that way is rotten. It is disappointing.

I have been reading in 2 Kings (after I finished 1 Kings). There the kings and the nations were so disappointing. Time after time it is said that the king followed in the way of the sins of Jeroboam. They would not follow the Lord. They would worship other gods. Some even sacrificed their children! What?! Why would they do that? Don't they know...of course they know what the Lord says. But they did not care of follow the way of the Lord. How disappointing.

I am sure that you could find examples in your own life of how you have been disappointed by others. The marriage relationship that was betrayed for a roll in the hay. A trust that is destroyed by a few words, a life that is destroyed by the use of drugs or alcohol. Friendships torn apart because of some action. Jobs destroyed, futures ruined because of self-centered actions. Disappointments.

While I don't want to say this but...I am sure that you have been disappointed in me as a pastor. You had a direction you thought the church should go and because of my leadership, it did not go that way. You thought that something should be said and I did not say it. I did not make the call when you thought I should. I was not available when you had a need. And I disappointed you.

People will disappoint you. No matter who they are - parent, child, employer, employee, pastor, teacher, or friend. Why? Because we are all sinful. We all struggle with ourselves, our desires, our directions, our needs and our wants. We do not always live the way we are supposed to live. We do not love as we are to love.

So what do we do? We turn to the Lord. He never disappoints us. I am sure that you can point to some situation you were disappointed by the outcome and you blame God for that fact. But think about it, did God actually tell you that you would get everything your sinful heart desired? Nope. He did not. We think He should do what we want, but that is not the way it works. That would make us God and Him our lackey. That is not the way it is. He is God. We ware the creatures. He made us. He knows what is best for us.

What about when my daughter or son died? God disappointed me. No He did not. You set yourself up as God and told Him what should happen. Death destroys. It always will. Until the last day when God destroys death in the resurrection. When Christ comes on the clouds, the dead will rise and we will see what it means in John 11:25-26, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who believes in me shall never die." God did not disappoint you. Sin did. Sin caused the break, the death. But God could have stopped it! Yes, you are right, but He never promised that you will not face death, your own, your spouse, your child, your parent. He did promise to give life from death.

God disappointed me when the pastor sinned. God disappointed me when my friends turned their back on me. God disappointed me when He did not give me the job. God disappointed me when He did not heal my broken relationship. God disappointed me...do you see the common theme? You are blaming God for the sinful behavior of others, of yourself. He did not do those things. You did. Others did. They disappointed you not God.

God will never disappoint you when it comes to that which He has promised. He will be your God, always. He will love you even when you do not love Him. He will watch over you even when you are blatantly doing wrong. He will love you even as you do not love Him. He will never even turn on Himself and disappoint. Paul wrote to Timothy, "If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself." (2 Timothy 2:13 ESV)

No, God does not disappoint us. People disappoint us. What do we do about that? We learn to forgive. We learn to move beyond the actions that caused disappointment. We also learn to admit that we have also disappointed others. We learn to live with one another, sinful people that we are, knowing that we all trust in the One who will never disappoint and that is not you or me.