Sunday, July 12, 2015

“WINNING OVER DISAPPOINTMENTS!” 1


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.

No comments:

Post a Comment