Disappointments

Read: Exodus 5:1-22; Exodus 6:1-13

They come in all shapes and sizes. Big and small, and they're experienced both by people who belong to Jesus, John 1:11-12 and those who as of yet, haven't been born anew, John 3:3. Most of us frequently experience these. What are they? “Disappointments.”

I looked up that simple word this week, and I like this definition: ‘Receiving less than what was expected.’ Yes, when that occurs, disappointment often walks in the door.

I thought of that idea last night as I was once again watching the Christmas classic "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer." It was time for the lament from the misfit toys who had every reason to believe that they would be spending yet another year on the island where they had been waiting to be placed in the home of a child who would love them. Here is the lament spoken by some of the disappointed toys:

-Well, it's Christmas Eve, but looks like we're forgotten again.

- But Rudolph promised we'd go this time.

- Guess the storm was too much for them.

- Might just as well go to bed and start dreaming about next year.

- I haven't any dreams left to dream.

- We'll never get off this island. Never.

Yes, it is merely a fictional story, but there aren't very many people who haven't felt the sting of disappointment and wondered what God was doing at times when they like the misfit toys, feel as if they have no more dreams? Thankfully, Exodus 6-7 gives us hope.

God's chosen people were enslaved in Egypt, but hope that things would change for them had entered the land. Moses and Aaron had come with a message from God. Deliverance was on the way. Then the bottom fell out. At least, that's how is surely seemed to God's people. Egypt's leader did not look kindly upon Moses' demand that Pharaoh allow the people to take a journey into the wilderness and offer sacrifices to God; so, he made their work more difficult, and the people were beaten. Disappointment set in. Shouldn't things have become easier? Why were they being treated this way? So, Moses did the right thing. He called out to God. He lamented that things weren't going as he had expected. Wouldn't we have done the same thing? God answered his weary man by reminding him that He had made a covenant with His people, and He had heard their groaning. He would set them free. All true things that could be accomplished by an Almighty and all-powerful God, and Moses gave the Lord's message to the people.

The people's reaction? They weren't encouraged because of the cruelty they had experienced. Disappointment had set in. God did not shame or chide them. Instead, God carried out His plan and brought His people out of slavery in His way and in His time. In spite of the fact that the people were not buoyed up by Moses' words. Don't we have a wondrous God Who understands that we are often weary and weak, Psalm 103:14? Usually, our disappointments aren't as difficult as what the children of Israel faced, but some are very painful.

How can we encourage either ourselves or one who is cast down due to a disappointment? First, we can listen without minimizing their disappointment. Since we all have different backgrounds and different temperaments, what might be a tiny disappointment to one could be more painful to someone else. The first step toward helping is to not brush aside someone's hurt like an unwanted fly. Jesus modeled that kind of listening for us. The One Who knows all truth listened when people talked to Him. He fleshed out the truth stated in Psalm 116:1-2 where we are reminded that God bends down to listen to His own when we cry out to Him in prayer. Second, we can hold out truth like God did when He talked with Moses. In 2016, the Oxford Dictionary chose the word post-truth as its word of the year. The meaning that this "word" conveys is that feelings trump truth. God's people had never heard the word post-truth, but they, due to their brokenness, were not strengthened by the Word of God. Even if truth held out with gentleness does not seem to fall on to fertile soil when we share it, later on it might result in encouragement for the one who has heard it.

In the Bible, we have been given so many truths and promises; therefore, as we are led by the Holy Spirit, let's hold out encouragement when others face disappointments. Here are a few we might tuck away.

1. Philippians 1:6 says that the One Who began a good work in our lives will also finish it. He doesn't stop working out His plan in our lives even when we can't fathom how our disappointments could possibly fit into it.

2. Hebrews 4:14-16 reminds us that we have a Lord and Savior Who has experienced the things that are a part of our every day lives; therefore, we can run to Him in times of disappointment. He is not aloof and uncaring. As He heard the groaning of the children of Israel, He also hears us when we cry out to Him, Psalm 34:15.

3. Romans 8:18 reminds us that the eternal blessings of God far outweigh the

sorrows, trials and disappointments that we endure on earth. Sometimes, this truth seems hard to believe when we are dealing with the pain of disappointment. Here is where we can ask the Lord to help us believe His truth over what we see just as the man whose son was demonized did in Mark 9:24. Jesus never scolded him for his honest admission, and He helped him overcome his unbelief.

Back to Romans 8:18. When we hear stories of great disappointment and pain, we wonder. How can God's eternal rewards make the trials here seem like a speck in comparison to what He will give us throughout eternity.

It is interesting that Paul who had been given a look into paradise, 2 Corinthians 12:3-4 was the one who was given this truth. He heard things he wasn't able to tell us about. Things that are too amazing. No wonder, he could confidently say that there is no comparison between the pains and disappointments here and what God has in store for us.

Lord, Thank You for the countless times You have helped us when disappointment wearied us. Help us to lift up others.