Something I’ve had a hard time accepting throughout my life is that without realizing it, for periods I’ve felt disappointed by God.
I’ve even been angry with Him.
Today, I’d like to share with you some of my thoughts about what I’ve learned you can do if you feel disappointed by God.
To do so, I want to share with you a short bible text:
For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. (…)
Romans 15: 8 – 9
In recent months, I have had to make peace with the reality that as human beings, it is possible for us to feel disappointed by God.
I’ve had to realize that, as in any genuine relationship, the other party doesn’t always do exactly what you want.
But the fact that I feel disappointed doesn’t mean I’m right.
In today’s text, the Bible teaches us that Jesus fulfilled, among others, two important purposes during his earthly ministry.
One, for the Jews, being the fulfillment of the promise made by God to their ancestors.
Coming to earth, dying, and rising, Jesus confirmed that God is faithful to fulfill what he promises and that he has always been telling the truth.
Think for a moment, God had made a promise to the people of Israel, yet the people’s expectations of how God should fulfill that promise did not align exactly with what God had in mind.
The Jews expected a warrior messiah to establish a de facto earthly kingdom.
God didn’t have that in mind.
The kingdom that God wanted to conquer through Jesus was a spiritual kingdom.
Defeat sin and darkness.
To the perception and expectations of many Jews, Jesus was a disappointment, but that didn’t mean they were right.
God was fulfilling his promises and carrying out his best plan even though they could not see, accept, or understand it.
Dear reader, what I am trying to tell you is that God is faithful to his promises.
He doesn’t lie, he doesn’t cheat, he doesn’t disappoint, he doesn’t change his mind.
Jesus evidences or proves this great truth.
When you feel disappointed by God, it is okay to express how you feel, but keep in mind that this experience is based on expectations that are based on your limited knowledge.
God, who sees the whole picture, knows what is best and wants to give it to you.
Tell him how you feel and ask him to give you the patience to continue trusting him, and hoping for the best from his hand.
On the other hand, the second purpose fulfilled by Jesus, of which the Bible speaks, was to extend God’s mercy to non-Jews, so that we have the opportunity to glorify Him by recognizing his love and kindness.
Dear reader, God loves every human being, regardless of his spiritual condition or creed.
The non-Jews of whom the apostle Paul speaks were in idolatry, in many cases people lost in immorality and error.
God’s mercy for you and me was exposed when he died for those of us who had no light so that we might have it.
To give us hope.
In Jesus, we have the hope that we can be children of God, the hope that we are accepted, that we are loved.
The hope that God is good, that we can trust and expect the best from Him, even if at times we don’t understand what’s going on, and may feel disappointed.
In time, we will see that our loving father was right.
I hope these words are a blessing to your life.
And what do you think? Have you been disappointed by God? Share in the comments.
A hug, God bless you.
