Dealing with Disappointment

Dealing with Disappointment!

How do we deal with one of life's guarantees? Having to experience disappointment is the one thing that we will all go through in life.  It is not easy, but we will all need to embrace it at some point in our lives. 

This last weekend, my son and I got to experience this firsthand. We had just disembarked from the train, when we heard that the Cape Town Marathon had been cancelled. Initially all of the runners thought it was some kind of hoax, but as we walked towards the start line, we realised it was true. We could not believe it. The disappointment in the air was palpable, and very soon the adrenaline seeped out of our bodies. The race was done, even before we started.

So, how do we all deal with disappointment? Eliza Tabor once wrote:

“Disappointment to a noble soul is what cold water is to burning metal; it strengthens, tempers, intensifies, but never destroys it.”

Well, I trust that this will be true in some way. However, the Bible writers add something else to the mix.

Romans 5:4 - "And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love."

1 Samuel 15:11 - Samuel was angry when he heard this. He prayed his anger and disappointment all through the night. (The Message)

I like this attitude - praying our disappointment. If anyone knows the impact of disappointment it is God. We can take all of our 'deferred hopes' to him and trust that he will revive our spirits.

Living in Grace

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When we have no intention of following through with action

There are few things more annoying than someone who promises to do something and then intentionally doesn't do it. I am not speaking about times when we genuinely forget to do something, because this happens to us all, at some point in time. 

What I mean is when someone says "Yes, I will do it" but actually has no will or intention to commit to any action. That can make us all mad!

And I think it also got under Jesus' skin too. Listen to what he says: 

"Why do you call me Lord, Lord and do not do what I say?" (Luke 6:46)

I think he was used to people being excited about the idea of following him, but then never committing to the journey of discipleship. 

1 Samuel 15:22 - But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.

“Discipleship is not an option. Jesus says that if anyone would come after me, he must follow me.” - Timothy Keller

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What to do with your disappointment?!

So when you face disappointment what do you do with it?
Shout? 
Get angry? 
Seek revenge? 
Feel depressed?
When Samuel was disappointed he turned to God and he prayed about his disappointment all night!

1 Samuel 15:11-12 - "Samuel was angry when he heard this. He prayed his anger and disappointment all through the night."

If you carry on reading this passage in 1 Samuel you will note that he prayed through is disappointment first before he confronted Saul. This is a good lesson for most of us - praying first can help us avoid compounding our situation by speaking out of anger!

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Obedience is the hard part

 

Jim Wallis – “The great tragedy of modern evangelism is in calling many to belief but few to obedience.”

Somehow we have slowly skewed our understanding of 'giving our lives to Christ.' In the early Church, it meant a deep commitment to discipleship - following the Jesus way, wherever that would take us. 

In time, we moved this to understand that salvation was only important for when you die - get the ticket for heaven and you will be okay. Jim Wallis is absolutely correct - our call should be one of a sincere calling to obey Christ. Of course, this starts with the initial belief in a loving Redeemer, but that is only the beginning. The rest is "an obedience in the same direction" (Eugene Peterson).

1 Samuel 15:22 - Samuel said, “Which does the Lord prefer: obedience or offerings and sacrifices? It is better to obey him than to sacrifice the best sheep to him.

Acts 20:22 - And now, in obedience to the Holy Spirit I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.

 

Living in Grace

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Stay with me

There are times we just need someone to stand alongside us. Perhaps our prayer is just this - "Stay with me." Even if there is no one else to stand with you at this time, always remember that we can count on the Lord to 'abide with us.'

1 Samuel 22:23 - "Stay with me; don’t be afraid."

 

The words from this old song speak the same truth.

 

"Abide with me, fast falls the eventide

The darkness deepens Lord, with me abide
When other helpers fail and comforts flee
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me."

 

Living in Grace

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Watch out for the mule!

›   

 

“A mule dressed in a tuxedo is still a mule.”-Traditional saying.

   Our society is so focused on the 'visual' that we seldom take time to get to know the true

   character of other people. We can make quick judgements of others and then live to regret those  snap

   decisions. 

     The saying above, also reminds me that sometimes people try to disguise who they truly are, but in the

     end their true character still shines through. Of course this doesn't mean that 'mules' can't be changed

    through the grace of Christ, but we should exercise caution when only noticing  the outward

    appearance of people.

1 Samuel 16:7 - But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Living in Grace

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1 Samuel - Hannah's prayer

"It so happened that as she continued in prayer before God, Eli was watching her closely. Hannah was praying in her heart, silently. Her lips moved, but no sound was heard. Eli jumped to the conclusion that she was drunk. He approached her and said, “You’re drunk! How long do you plan to keep this up? Sober up, woman!” - 1 Samuel 12-14

We should never be quick to jump to conclusions, because often we will be wrong. Poor Hannah was pouring her heart out to the Lord and Samuel thought she was drunk - that was a massive error in judgement on his behalf. To his credit he apologised and blessed her instead.

God heard her prayers for a son and then Hannah proceeded to pray a wonderful prayer of praise, thanking God for answered prayers.

“My heart rejoices in the Lord!
    The Lord has made me strong.
Now I have an answer for my enemies;
    I rejoice because you rescued me.
² No one is holy like the Lord!
    There is no one besides you;    there is no Rock like our God." - 1 Samuel 2:1-2

Living in Grace

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Beth Shean

Beth Shean has an incredible history. One hasn't got time to go into the whole history of this ancient city, as it goes back 6000 years, but it has had many occupants over the centuries. Perhaps the most striking biblical reference to Beth Shean is in the book of first Samuel. King Saul's body was nailed to the walls of this city, along with those of his sons. Later on in 2 Samuel 21, David returned to this place to retrieve the bones.

1 Samuel 31 - ⁸ The next day, when the Philistines went out to strip the dead, they found the bodies of Saul and his three sons on Mount Gilboa. ⁹ So they cut off Saul’s head and stripped off his armor. Then they proclaimed the good news of Saul’s death in their pagan temple and to the people throughout the land of Philistia. ¹⁰ They placed his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths, and they fastened his body to the wall of the city of Beth-shan.

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It sucks being Goliath!

In the context of Sport we often encounter the comparison between David versus Goliath. You will have one team, that is considered the underdog or the 'David' and then you have the favourites (Goliath) who are expected to be victorious.

However, just as the original story plays out in 1 Samuel 17, so we witnessed this past weekend another David versus Goliath moment. No one gave Japan a chance of beating the Springboks, but they played such an amazing game of Rugby that they pulled off the biggest shock in Rugby history. David beats Goliath again.
But let's be honest, it sucks being on Goliath's team at the moment doesn't? Now I know how the Philistines felt when their Champion warrior and been defeated by a teenager!

As we begin another week I invite you to remember that in God's kingdom, 'bigger' is not always better. God honours the humble and the small. God empowers the weak and comforts the broken. God is always full of surprises.

1 Samuel 17:48-49 -As Goliath approached, David ran out to meet him and, reaching into his shepherd’s bag, took out a stone, hurled it from his sling, and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and the man fell on his face to the ground.

Living in Grace

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Making an impact

There is a quote that has been troubling me all week. I used it in my sermon tonight and it is still swimming around in my head.


“If your presence doesn’t make an impact, then your absence won’t make a difference.” - Anon

You could swap the word "impact" with the word "influence" and it still makes for challenging reading. If what we are doing in life, doesn't make a positive influence on the lives of others, then perhaps we need to re-evaluate what we are doing. This goes beyond our work situations - it spans everything aspect of our lives - family, friendships, church, community, country and so on. 

I know that many of us may not feel that we naturally make an impact, but let's not underestimate the contribution we make. It may seem small, but it can make a huge difference. Remember this quote:

“If you think you're too small to have an impact, try going to sleep with a mosquito in the room.” -

Anita Roddick

Let's commit to do what we can to influence our world/town/school/work place.

1 Samuel 15:17 - "Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel."

Living in Grace

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