No Disappointment With Christ!

Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Romans 5:2-6 NLT

Though there be many things and people that might disappoint us in life, when we are in Christ, we are not disappointed--for we know His love will see us through whatever falls upon us.

Sometimes--we see not getting what we want as a disappointment, but we have to learn how to rise above above we thought we wanted and accept what God has for us. After all, He knows more than we do about what is best for us.

But knowing this does not stop us from appealing to Him for those things we desire. What helps us in not being disappointed is when we align our petitions to Him based upon His Word.

We are to pray for leaders in the world and when we ask God to pour out wisdom upon them and those leaders are receptive to hearing God and obeying, we can rest assured of peace in the land.

However, when we can see that leaders are not hearing from God--and we can tell by what they say and do--we must seek God's wisdom for ourselves so we can endure to the end--never wavering in our faith in Him--because He will never fail us.

I've expressed my disappointment in church leaders and political leaders and lawmakers and teachers and in so many others that I'm now tired of being disappointed by people. My focus has to be turned to Christ in whom there is no disappointment. That does not mean I ignore what is going on around me, but that I consistently reaffirm my faith in God and know that He will work it out!

Therefore--it is to Him I give the glory; it is to Him I give the praise; it is to Him I commit my soul until my dying day. There is no one like Him--no one in the earth who can do the things He does and no one who has a place for me for all eternity where I will live in peace and rest with Him.

We don't have to worry about being disappointed with Christ as long as we live to please Him and not people!

Disappointing Joy!

"My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." (I John 2: 1,2 NIV)

Things that bring great joy
Sometimes allow disappointment to seep
Into our beings, clinging, cloying our minds,
Taking away the good, replaced with evil thoughts,
Designed to lead one into temptation's snares,
Choking back the warnings aired, stifling desire to do right,
Ignited by temptation's blinders, shackled by flesh
Ignoring Spirit's, "Warning, Warning, Danger ahead!"
And then when speckled, stained, tainted memory's dust,
Takes time to see beyond the smeared rainbow bent,
By disobedience, and distrust, joy once known, disappoints
And the nerves once tinkling with anticipation, now dulled
By pain and anguish, frustration and guilt--Not by what's done,
But the warning ignored and disregarded, like so many
Who came before, refusing to heed the signs of the times,
Determined to do things our own way, without clear vision,
Minds clouded by love and lights that falsely portray.
No matter what we do or have done, John reminds us,
Our lives are not about us, but Him, and our missteps,
Forgiven, forgotten when we repent,
Sincerity ballooning our hearts and mouths, as we seek,
Forgiveness of others and forgiving ourselves,
Remembering great joy can be disappointing.

Although we claim the joy of the Lord is our strength, we sometimes forget that it is because of His sacrifice that we are saved from ourselves and that is the joy we have in Him. However, He takes great joy in our success when we obey and then when we are tempted beyond our own ability to resist, we are disappointed with us. When we don't know how to forgive "self" for not heeding warnings, we make matters worse by taking our disappointment out on others.

Let's heed the warning of God's Word and all who have our best interest in mind. He gives us warnings to keep us safe from harm and when we do not heed them, we step into the snare set by enemy to create chaos and confusion. Let's give the devil no place in our lives and kick confusion in the outer realms of Satan's domain, so he is the only one confused.

There is great joy in serving The Lord and derived from our obedience, but we must take care to do all things according to The Word and not attempt to rely upon our own wisdom. Holy Spirit's job is to remind us of those things we have been taught, and show us things to come and when we see danger, we must be diligent to warn those in harm's way. If we see danger and say nothing, the end result is on us; but if we see danger and warn others and they don't pay attention to the warning, the end result is on them. God's Word has not changed and will not change and we must learn to hear Holy Spirit or those to whom He has spoken.

When we do what God would have us to do, we will not know--disappointing joy, but joy to the full in Jesus Christ!

If We Love!

“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." (John 15:10, 12NKJV)

Loving someone is not always the easiest thing to do--especially if we love like God loves--unconditionally, no matter what. God loves us, in spite of us, no matter how many times we probably disappoint Him in the things we do and say. Parents, are supposed to love their children--no matter how many times they disappoint them by the things they do and say. Spouses, when they truly understand the distinction between loving and lusting--love one another--no matter how many times they are disappointed with one another. The fact is--if we live long enough--we will disappoint someone we say we love.

How people handle disappointment is a true benchmark of their "love" for the object of their affection. We already know that it is obvious that many who marry, don't really love because of the high divorce rate. If they truly loved one another, they would not cause harm to each other, be unfaithful in their relationship, and they would forgive each other when they have been disappointed.

Parents should not be willing to abandon their kids--don't condone stupid--but don't leave them hanging trying to sort things out if they have never been taught how to be responsible.

God loves us so much--and He does not condone sin--that He is willing to forgive us when we recognize how much we disappointment Him by the things we say and do. He doesn't just love us when we do right--He continues to love us when we do wrong and are willing to be corrected.

Can we say the same? Do we love God enough to not want to disappoint Him?

Every time I think I've gotten a handle on my temper, something happens that reminds me, I still have a long way to go--to stop disappointing God. I am so thankful that He loves me enough to check me and remind me that I have not arrived at perfection--I still need Him to guard my tongue!

My love for God is unconditional, but I have to make an effort not to disappoint Him and I'm working on it. How about you? Are there things in your life that you know, need to be removed? Are there any areas in your life in which you know, you need His continued guidance and direction?

If we truly Love Him, we'll acknowledge where we are, invite Him to govern our lives, and hear Him when He speaks--correcting us. Are we willing to listen?

Father, in the name of Jesus, help us to live a life that is pleasing to You, watching out for all those things that would disappoint You, and learning how to love, like You love us--unconditionally. Amen!

Does God Disappoint Us?

When we love people, we don't (as a rule) want to disappoint them. 

Parents don't want to disappoint their children. Spouses don't want to disappoint each other. And we don't want to disappoint because love should only want to "lift and encourage" the spirits of those loved. Yet, we are often disappointed and some even say that God disappointed them.

Disappoint--fail to fulfill expectations, wishes, dreams, defeat, frustrate the fulfillment of hope. Based on these definitions, can we realistically say God disappoints us? Or is it more accurate to say, we disappoint God?

When we do not obtain the future God has predetermined for us (Jeremiah 23:11), is this God's doing or ours?  Did we stay on the path to success as God planned or did we decide to do what we wanted to do? God has given us "free will to choose" and often our choices are not the choices He would make for us, but He allows us to venture out on the choices we make.

God has declared us to be, "more than conquerors", but are we?
God has declared us to be, "the head and not the tail", but are we?
God has declared us healed, "by His stripes", but are we?
God has declared us, "righteous" in right standing with Him, but are we?
God has given us, "power to get wealth", but are we using it to His glory?
God has given us, "unspeakable joy", but do we understand it and proclaim?
God has given us chance after chance to get, "living right", but have we gotten there yet?

Since God is love and can do nothing but love us, how can we say He has ever disappointed us?  Would He deliberately frustrate His own plans for us? Is He not capable of fulfilling His expectations towards us?

The truth of the matter is, we probably often disappoint God.  When we don't take care of the children He blesses us with, that's a disappointment because it is a reflection of His parenting us. Does He not take care of us? When we don't develop skills to earn a living, is that God's fault? When we are incapable of loving others and then wonder why our lives are not everything we wanted them to be, whose fault is that? When loved ones die, some blame God. When we lose jobs, some blame God. When disasters and tragedies occur across the land, some blame God. When people abuse and misuse people; especially children, some blame God. God is not responsible for the choices people make--they are. God does not force us to do anything--He encourages, guides, directs--but never forces.  People are allowed to make choices, but they also must deal with the consequences of those choices.

If love is the key to our success in life with others--who is responsible for our disappointments?  We must learn to love self, God, and others. We must learn to set goals and work towards them.  We must strive for excellence in all things. We must learn to forgive the shortcomings of others, so we'll be forgiven. We must learn to use everything God has given us to succeed in life, to His glory. Are we there yet? 

Let's not think that God is capable of disappointing anyone, but look deep within and see if we are disappointing Him.

Father, help us to be more like You--ever loving and never disappointing.