Dealing with Divine Disappointment
Luke 7:18-23 18 Then the disciples of John reported to him concerning all these things. 19 And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to Jesus, saying, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?" 20 When the men had come to Him, they said, "John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, 'Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?' " 21 And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight. 22 Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. 23 "And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me." (NKJ)
Intro: Have you ever been upset with God? Sometimes when our expectations are not met by the Lord, we can become sullen or angry. I can think of a few examples in the Bible. Job, in his grief and misery, developed a chip on his shoulder against God. Think about the people of Israel under Moses. God didn’t meet their expectations the way they wanted Him to, so they would grumble and complain and threaten to go back to Egypt. Ever done that? “God, I had it better when I wasn’t even a Christian! I should just go back to my old life!” King David got mad at God when God struck Uzzah dead when he reached out and touched the Ark of the Covenant. David became afraid of the Lord and decided to leave the ark somewhere else and not bring it to Jerusalem. It feels as if David was almost being defiant by his decision to abandon the ark. After all, wasn’t he trying to do something good and bring God’s presence to the capitol city where it belonged? Well, if God was going to treat him that way, then forget it!
-How about Jonah? He got angry at God when God showed mercy to Nineveh. “God, I went to all this trouble of almost drowning, then getting half digested by a huge sea monster of some kind, then getting hurled up! What other person has ever been regurgitated and lived to tell about it? I finally did what you told me to do! I told these Gentile dogs that they’d better repent and turn from their wickedness or you were going to destroy them! I didn’t think they’d actually do it! I can’t believe it! This is NOT right!!!”
-It seems that God often misses our deadlines. We don’t read about his struggle, but what do you think Joseph was feeling when he was falsely accused and thrown in prison for a few years? This after being rejected and sold out by his brothers as a slave in Egypt. Why did God allow him to be put in such a dark situation, making him wait day after day, week after week, month after month, wanting nothing more than freedom? God had given him some amazing dreams and promises. Why drag him through all the difficulties?
-Noah might have wished that God had spoken to him a few hundred years earlier. After all, a 100-year building project is a lot for a guy who was half a millennium old! And changing diapers at that age? Abraham had it easy! He was only 100!
-As we can see in our text, John the Baptist is wondering when Jesus is going to start taking care of business and cleaning up the riff raff like King Herod Antipas, who stole his brother’s wife. John is probably no different from the disciples of Jesus in that He was expecting the Messiah to sweep in and set up His kingdom and overthrow the Roman govt. However, he isn’t seeing any strategic actions by his cousin, Jesus, so he sends this message to Jesus, asking Him if He is the Messiah, or if they should expect someone else. John’s expectations of a Messiah are not being met. Surely the Messiah would get him out of prison and bring true justice to the world.
-I’d like to give a few perspectives that will help us deal with divine disappointment. When we are less than thrilled about how or when God is working (or seemingly not working), what are we to think and do? Let’s take a look.
1. Realize that God knows more about your situation than you do.
-God sees the big picture and is working to accomplish His will in your life.
Philippians 2:12-16 “…work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. 14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16 as you hold out the word of life….”
Romans 8:28-29 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”
2. Understand that God is more interested in your character than your comfort.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
3. Give God your burdens because He cares for you
1 Peter 5:5-7 “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
-Honest brokenness before God. God already knows you feel disappointed, but in His eyes you are appointed! You are chosen by God to walk the path He leads you on. Pour out your heart to Him as often as you need to. He does not grow weary of your tears. Receive His strength and encouragement He has for you! He cares!
4. Stop looking at what God’s not doing, so you can see what He is doing!
Luke 7:22-23 22 Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. 23 "And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me."
-Ask God to help you begin to see what He is doing, rather than fixating on what you think He is failing to do for you.
-Don’t inventory what you asked for and didn’t receive from God. This will undermine your faith and can make you pray with offense toward God. “God, I’m only talking to You because I have to, not because I want to! You’ve already let me down this many times before. Let’s see if You can do it right this time.” Of course, we don’t actually say those words. That would be irreverent. But what’s in your heart? Your outward reverence may still be intact, but have you lost faith in God? Do you feel somehow that He has failed you?
-When we pray with an offended spirit, it can feel and look like humility to us. But it is false humility. Or maybe you even shut down with God and give Him the silent treatment, kind of like spouses will do sometimes. This happens when we fix our eyes on our problem and focus on what looks like no answer from God.
-We cannot afford to be impressed with the size of our problem. When Moses sent 12 spies into the Promised Land to check it out, 10 of them came back overly impressed with the size of their problem. Numbers 13:33 "There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight."
-When we focus on the size of our problem, we tend to forget the size of our God! We forget who we are in Christ, favored by God, chosen, blessed, and called to know Him and make Him known!
-So, remember who God is! Stop looking at what God is not doing, and open your eyes to see what He is doing! Make this declaration: God is at work in my life! God is at work in my family! No prayer I pray is lost! Lord, help me to see what You are doing!”
Conclusion:
1. God knows more about your situation than you do.
2. God is more interested in your character than your comfort.
3. Give God your burdens because He cares for you
4. Stop looking at what God’s not doing, so you can see what He is doing!
-God is calling us to trust Him in everything! He is up to something great and is calling us to step up in faith! Our opportunities to trust Him and be useful to Him are great, if we will look to Him instead of getting angry when He doesn’t do things our way or on our schedule. Disappointments may be divine appointments in disguise. Don’t fixate on what God hasn’t done for you, and don’t be impressed with your problems! Jesus is way bigger than your biggest obstacle! Got a sin problem? Jesus nailed it! Got an addiction? He’s got you covered (and recovered)! Relationship problems? Jesus offers grace and forgiveness and changes us from the inside out! Are you sick? Jesus took care of that too and says to call for the elders/leaders of the church to pray the prayer of faith for you and the Lord will raise you up!
-The best way I know of to deal with divine disappointment is to come to Jesus!
Matthew 11:28-30 "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light."
