hold on to the promise

All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.

Hebrews 11:13-16

It is amazing in how almost every US presidential election, there’s a huge groundswell of hope, or has been up to this point, for something like a deliverer, who will bring about desired change. And almost inevitably a huge disappointment sets in, usually sooner than later, even if much later. It’s not like people shouldn’t have any desires to see better policies set in place. But expectations indeed have to be tempered.

But for us in Christ, we have sure promises which we know we’ll be fulfilled in time. It is a large part actually of what keeps us going. People who depend solely on the politics of the world will sooner or later become disillusioned, may give up hope entirely and look for something completely different. But for us in Jesus, by faith we anticipate something much better, and certain. Let’s clarify here, that this hope should have an impact on what we want to see come to pass now, and the good works we do to that end. Though admittedly we can get frayed in waiting for the full realization of this hope which though present already, is not yet, that is far from complete, life taking its toll; this is in significant part what keeps us going. This hope, along with the faith and love that is in and through Jesus.

when beset with disappointment

In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years.

Luke 1:5-7

God’s people had already waited so long, living at home like exiles since they were ruled by a foreign power. Not only did they not really have their own king regardless of whatever pretending Herod did and more to fill that position. Though God was supposedly their King, the promises of Scripture had not been worked out. And Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah were old and childless, which for couples in those days was a blight, commonly thought to be a sign of a lack of God’s blessing in their lives.

I wonder if disappointments that we’re experiencing help prepare us for what God wants to bring in, that God maybe wouldn’t be able to do otherwise apart from such disappointments. Or at least we can say that God chooses to use such emptiness to fill it with the promise of God’s goodness. But fulfillment in this life is only partial, and comes with plenty of trouble. I’m thinking now of the birth of John and what follows. They did not live to see the ministry of their son, who adapts to living in the wilderness, perhaps having contact with the Qumran community (Dead Sea Scrolls), but with a message all his own from God. And we know all that follows. Certainly God’s work in moving hearts, but also in John’s death at the hands of Herod.

We live with disappointment at times, unfulfilled dreams, perhaps even promises in our minds. It seems like all is not what it was cracked up to be. But that’s when we look to God anew to fulfill what only God can bring about. That is what Advent is all about. We anticipate, preferably together God bringing to pass what God would do, and whatever part we might have in that. Certainly in the case of Elizabeth and Zechariah, they played an important role, which all considered, certainly had some formative affect in their son, John the Baptizer’s life. We can anticipate something that though not groundbreaking like that was, follows from it, of course through Jesus’s life, ministry, death, resurrection and ascension. God has something in the works for us as well, even if it is hidden from human eyes. God is at work, and our longings will be purified and fulfilled. In and through Jesus.

making the best of a bad situation

Sometimes in life, whether or not it’s the case, we may believe we’re on a sinking Titanic. Things are not falling out in a way we would have imagined, and not in a way we would consider good. That may be when the Lord is getting us ready for something new either in the midst of the mess, or for something entirely different. And it likely will involve making the best of a bad situation.

Oftentimes in my life if something disappointing happens, especially in part at least, thanks to me, then I endeavor to not only correct it, but see something come out of it which makes it better than what it was before.

It is key to pray and pray and pray some more, then keep on praying. Of course that helps change us, but it can also change others, and perhaps even circumstances. God can move mountains in response to faith and prayer, as Jesus said. At the same time, we might as well face it: Life is hard. God is good. And God’s goodness in the midst of life’s badness, or difficulty, is precisely what we need. And we really need this in community, together with others in Jesus, the church. We are to face the hardships of life together; we’re in this together. It’s never the case of “I made it, and someone else didn’t.” If one suffers, all suffer with them; if one rejoices, all rejoice together, in Christ’s body, the church. And so we need to level with God and with each other, the latter in the right context with some wisdom and discretion.

And in the midst of the bad, we have to look for the good. From God, in and through Jesus.

accepting hardship and disappointment instead of discouragement and defeat

Sometimes we have to make the best of a hard situation. Instead of caving in and giving up, and often along with that, feeling sorry for ourselves. And unwittingly, or maybe not so unwittingly, accepting our demise.

There are all kinds of reasons for this in a broken, fallen world of which we’re a part of in our own brokenness. Even apart from our own problems and shortcomings, indeed even sins along the way, life itself can present us with issues for which there are no good or easy answers.

And there really are limitations in this life. As humans we all have to eat, drink and sleep. While we can do some difficult things for a certain period of time, there are limits. And not everything in this life succeeds or turns out well according to plan. So we have to live according to realistic goals, and set our sights on that.

But we will be in some hard, difficult, and potentially discouraging places. That is inevitable, and we will do well to accept it as a matter of fact part of life and living in this present sphere of existence.

The worst thing we can do is feel sorry for ourselves. That means our disappointment and discouragement has caused us to accept our defeat. No. We have to do better going forward, no matter what. The biggest part of that better is to learn to depend on God in the midst of everything, and not on ourselves. But not baby ourselves, either.

A good passage to help us through all of this, as we consider the rest of scripture as well is found in one of the most down to earth books in scripture, James.

² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,^[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

James 1

May God help us be aware and awake to this problem, and learn to address it well with his wisdom and help in and through Jesus.

accepting one’s lot

This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot. Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart.

Ecclesiastes 5:18-20

It probably has taken me quite a while, but I think I’ve finally come around to begin to completely accept my lot in life with all the challenges and disappointments that come along my way. Life is like that; it is not some kind of dream vacation. Rather it is the hum-drum of challenge, effort, setback, failure at times, more effort, repentance all along the way, and remaining at it day after day.

And then there’s all the good that comes, if we could just see it. Wrapped up in the gifts God gives us, like the good wife I have, the grandchildren, the good I see in our daughter, the provisions God gives us to live and enjoy life.

Yes, in my case I would have liked to have been a pastor or teacher, but it didn’t pan out for this reason or that. I still maybe have some faint glimmers of dreaming about what I would like to see in whatever more days God allots to me. But above all, I want to more and more not only accept, but embrace whatever God gives me, and whatever place I find myself in. Knowing that God is good and that he will provide and help us as we seek to help others and be a blessing. In and through Jesus.

learning to live with disappointment, finding God in the picture

It is interesting again and again how life doesn’t end up the way we had half way anticipated or hoped, or were even led to believe. We might think that God has disappeared, and is not in the picture. And it can seem that what we have left is okay, yet still disappointing, or even at times not desirable at all.

What we need to look for in faith is how God might be directing and working. Faith does not exclude an imaginative, certainly prayerful look into what is and what might be. Not diminishing what is missing, but looking at what remains, and the possibilities in that.

Above all, it is a case of learning to rest in God’s promises and will in Jesus. Believing not only in God’s goodness, but his purposes at work in everything, for the gospel. We have to hang on and look, pray and keep looking. And learn to acclimate ourselves to change, and unexpected outcomes.

God’s will will prevail. The question becomes just how much of that working of God we will be a part of. Of course it’s all by grace, nothing more nor less. We need to rest in that, ready to do our part when the time and opportunity comes. As God’s purposes in Jesus continue on through the gospel. In and through Jesus.

when faced with disappointment

Broken dreams. Newer thoughts which seemed dashed forever. Present places which require faith to keep putting one foot in front of the other. An altogether different scenario than I could have imagined.

This requires the adjustments which might come to mind. While keeping our focus on God through Jesus. And while keeping the gospel, the good news of God’s grace and kingdom come in Jesus front and center.

In grace we are always and forever in formation. Change in us for sure, but change elsewhere can well be a part of that. We have to remain open.