Did you know that your
disappointments can be God’s appointment for your life? Possibly you
have experienced a great setback where you have questioned; “What is this all
about?” Each of us needs to have a file
in our life called the “I don’t
understand file.” I don’t have all the answers to our disappointments, but God is able to
turn our mess into a miracle, our test into a testimony and our chaos into a
celebration.
Job was a man who walked close to God. He was blessed with
everything that you can imagine. He was wealthy in having sheep, oxen, donkeys,
crops, children, and his wife. But one day, the winds of adversity knocked on
his door in a very devastating way. Job responds to all his losses with, “The
Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away!”
Each of us will face
disappointment in various ways: A marriage that crumbles, kids who become
rebellious, a bankruptcy, a moral failure, a false accusation, or a loss in our
health. Nowhere does God say if you love Him that everything will be smooth
sailing! God says just the opposite. “In this world you shall face tribulation,
but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world.”(John 16:33)
I really
don’t enjoy tests. I never did like the pop quizzes that our teacher surprised us with. But
on the other hand, I do like
things that are tested! I’m glad that someone tested the razor before it
hit my baby face. I’m glad someone had tested
my brakes before I drove my car. I’m really
glad that the pilot had to be tested before he got up one morning and said, “I
just feel led today to fly three hundred people to California.” No, each of us are thankful that there are tests and
requirements that must be met before he
got behind the cockpit of that plane. Doctors must be tested before they
are able to perform surgery on somebody.
Prescriptions must be tested before they can be sold across the counter to be introduced
into your body.
God also allows each of us to be tested for various reasons. Most of us don’t
really know what our faith is made
out of until we are tested. James 1:2 says, “Count it all joy
when you fall into divers temptations; knowing this that the trial of your
faith being much more precious than of gold.” God sees something good and makes
gold of our faith when we are tested.
God has allowed my life to be
tested many, many times. I feel at times like Martin Luther, who said, “My temptations have been my master in
divinity.” Job for sure had his share of
disappointments. After losing so much, how did it all end up? Yes, he could
have gotten bitter, but chose to get better and to believe and trust in his
God. That’s not always the case with some who have experienced losses in their
life. Job chose to take the path of trusting in his God. In the end, he was
blessed with twice as much as he started with.
Listen to Corrie Ten Boom, who experienced such great pain and loss
in the Nazi concentration camps. She said, “Look within and you will see
distress; look outwardly and you will be depressed,
but look up to God and you will find rest.” Life is too short to live
with a heavy cloud of disappointment over your life. God has already seen a way
out of your difficulty. Look up today and experience His power of freedom, joy
and peace that is designed for your life.
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