Have you ever been disappointed with God? Has He ever let you down? Have you prayed earnestly for something only to have God remain silent in answering your request? I think all of us have been there at one point in our walk with the Lord. But usually, we don’t stay upset with God for long. However, for some Christians, when major life events occur that rock their world, disappointment can cause their faith in God to vanish; and sadly, some have even abandoned the Bible and God altogether.
Let’s look at this concept of disappointment with God a little closer. Disappointment occurs when the actual experience of something falls far short of what we anticipate. We, as Christians, all believe that we serve a good God that loves us, protects us, and wants the best for us. Yet, we also know from experience that Christians go through suffering even when they are doing everything right. In addition, God’s word is full of promises to give us joy, peace, and rest in this life yet, when a tragedy strikes these things are often far away from us.
For example, when a father or mother loses a child, how can we reconcile this tragedy with Jesus’ promise in (Matthew 11:28-29): “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Some parents in this situation not only say where was God when my child died, but curse God for allowing it to happen. Peace and rest are far away from these parents who believe that God’s promises are only fiction or at best wishful thinking.
In the remainder of this two-part devotion, I would like to share six observations that I pray may help you if you have ever felt God unfair, silent, hidden, or distance.
Observation 1 – What about people who openly deny God and prosper?
We all know people like that who mock Jesus but seem to be materially blessed. First of all, having material goods doesn’t necessarily mean you are blessed. Many people have plenty of money and possessions but are not happy because true prosperity often depends on having good relationships and friendships which have little to do with material possessions. Second, having good health, in my book, with little possessions is far more of a blessing than having much goods and bad health. And third, justice delayed is not justice denied. If someone becomes rich through wicked or illegal means they ultimately will have to face God on judgment day and their temporary blessings will be forgotten when God administers His justice on them. Ultimately you reap what you sow.
Observation 2 – Don’t try to psychoanalyze God
So many people try to analyze God and blame Him when things don’t go the way we want them to go. We get disappointed with God since we can’t understand why we are suffering so much when we believe we are acting in God’s will. First, God doesn’t want to be analyzed to death but loved and trusted. His ways are higher than our ways and while God promises us peace and joy, He doesn’t promise us a suffer-free life. Second, our sense of fairness doesn’t mean that in the economy of God we are correct. God’s sense of fairness has an eternal element in it where our idea of fairness is often just in the here and now. And third, when God seems silent it doesn’t mean He is absent but silence allows us time to meditate on God’s word and trust God that in the long run He will work our suffering for a future good, if we only give God the time He needs to work things out according to His divine plan.
Observation 3 – Life is training for eternity
The moment we get saved we start our training course for eternity. While our perspective is often earthly we are told in (Colossians 3:2): “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” When we begin to have an eternal perspective, I believe, we will be able to deal with our earthly disappointments so much better. And here’s why. (Romans 8:28) tells us: “ And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God…” I believe that God can work out even our tragedies for good but sometimes we will never know how or the results won’t be seen until we reach the other side of eternity. However, thankfully, sometimes we can see how God takes present suffering and uses it for a great good.
For example, take the case of Joni Eareckson Tada. Joni at the age of 17 had a diving accident and became a quadriplegic. She became very discouraged and depressed during her first year of rehabilitation and I am sure she had her bouts of being disappointed with God. Fast forward to today. Joni is now in her seventies, and has a worldwide ministry to people with physical disabilities. Through this amazing ministry Joni has impacted thousands of people with disabilities for the good, both now, and through sharing the gospel and seeing many come to Christ, for eternity.
Joni prayed for her healing but it never came. Instead, God used her disability and inspirational story for much more good than if He chose to physically heal her. And don’t forget she will still get her healing – it just will probably have to wait to the other side of eternity. She chose to turn her disappointment with God into a ministry of blessing to many others. Rather than blame God for what happened, she chose to thank God for the privilege to use her disability to bless others. Joni has wonderfully passed her training course for eternity!
In tomorrow’s Part II of our devotion, we will explore three more observations on why we should never be disappointed with God.