Two sessions ago, I talked about disappointment in God and how it affects us. The main reason it’s so difficult to overcome is because its existence is so hard to acknowledge.
Since we’ve been taught to trust God and that He’s good all the time, we tend to hide our disappointment in Him. We’ve learned not to be like Adam and Eve and hide from His presence. Still, that doesn’t mean we don’t hide from the disappointment we feel that He didn’t come through for us. We still have fig-leaves that we’ve patched together so we pretend everything’s ok and can keep our disillusionment hidden behind a litany of excuses.
Now, I don’t know about your fig-leaves but some of my excuses when God’s personal promises to me seemed to have crashed and burned were:
First: ‘I guess I didn’t hear God’s voice, after all.’
Second: ‘Maybe I didn’t have enough faith. Or maybe I wasn’t persistent enough.’
Third: ‘Maybe I didn’t pray the right prayer with the right words. Maybe I needed to be more specific.’
Fourth: ‘Maybe it’s my motivation that’s the problem.’
Fifth: ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have listened to the negative voices.’
Sixth: ‘Maybe it wasn’t God’s will, after all.’
And, seventh, my all-time go-to favourite: ‘It seems God is teaching me patience.’
Now I knew that nice trite little cliché about, how if God is making you wait, you’re in good company—David had waited about 15 years for the throne, Joseph had spent 13 years as a slave or in prison, and Moses had been sidelined for 40 years in the desert. Still and all, you know, my background is mathematics teaching and I did a bit of calculation and figured that, at the rate I was going, to get into my calling I’d have to live longer than David and Joseph, but not quite as long as Moses. Somewhere, therefore, between 110 and 120 years.
Now, let me say what I’ve learned about my fig-leaves.
First, Jesus said His sheep hear His voice.
Second, we only need a mustard seed’s worth of faith—just enough to cling to the prayer shawl of Jesus and let His faith do the heavy lifting for us.
Third, we can never pray perfectly but that doesn’t matter because we have the perfect mediator to translate our words to the Father.
Fourth, our motivation this side of heaven will always be mixed.
Fifth, positive thoughts do not produce a breakthrough—Jesus does.
Sixth, if God’s will is always done on earth as in heaven, we wouldn’t need to pray for it to happen.
Seventh, it wasn’t that I didn’t have enough patience, I had too much. It had become a reason for doing nothing.
Before God can help us achieve our calling, we have to exchange our fig-leaves for His covering.
This is Grace Drops and I’m Anne Hamilton. May Jesus of Nazareth strip away your excuses today.
Thank you to Lorna Skinner of www.riversofmusic.co.uk for the background music.
Yum.
I’ve been disappointed many times. Trusting that His Word is TRUE, then what happens? I believe what His Word says, have we lost so much in the original? I guess one way or another we’re healed by being in heaven and we die.
Just needing to end this bc I’m stating a fact that the body isn’t getting better but worse. I’ve seen things happen by God in my life before but like many; “why God?”
Hi Cynthia – I guess I started this journey because of the “Why, God?” times in my own life. Eventually I discovered that it’s not so much about the disappointment as our reaction to it. Do we turn TO God or away FROM Him? It’s the consolations other than God that are the problem. That issue will be addressed in the session after the next one.
Anne I am really liking the creativity you do while producing all ur publications
Grace and Peace unlimited Dear
Nice podcast
Thank you for your kind words, Satish.
I learn so much from you Anne. God bless you. I live in South Africa, are your books available here?
Chana, I believe they are again available through Book Depository.
I guess it’s time to remove the fig leaf.
May be as good a time to get real on certain things. Thanks for stretching me and being that mirror in my face. I know what I need to do, I know in whose strength what I have to do, needs to and will be done in. Yet, I insist on debating …guess it makes me feel better about my procrastion.
Praise be to God for the revelation, insight, teaching and special way you open and rubbish some of my mindsets.
The word of God on time for me. So blessed! Thank you!