Word Wednesday:Disappointment

Luke 24:13

And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs

I wanted a bow and arrow for Christmas and my little heart was set on it as I was nearing the age of ten.  To watch my Grandpa and Dad practice out back was to inspire awe and wonder in the mind of this boy.  To be like them and cast arrows at indescribable speeds at a far away targets was my goal for this year and to do this I needed my own archery equipment.

Now my mind was much bigger than any budget my parents could work with so on Christmas, awakening with anticipation, my hopes were crushed when I found what I considered a rinky-dink bow and arrow under the tree.  It was not at all like Dad's or Grandpa's and my childlike aspirations were crushed.

Looking back I now know that what I wanted was not what was necessarily best for me and here is why:

1. I was physically unable to use a bow of the same size and capabilities of the adults.  I could neither hold it upright nor draw it back.  What I wanted would have been useless to me.
2. I need to learn and grow in increments.  We learn to walk by rolling, crawling, and falling.  No one learns Calculus without first learning 1+1=2.
3. There are limits on what others can provide for us.  People will let us down when we do not fully understand their situation also.  This does not excuse any wrongdoing on either ours or their part, but there very well may be good and valid reasons as to what has occurred.

Many if not all the disciples who had been following Jesus were disappointed at how His ministry apparently ended.  The Messiah of Israel was not supposed to die a gruesome death at the hands of the Gentiles and Jewish leaders.  Most of them were looking for an earthly Kingdom to be restored to Israel without having truly understood the plan and purpose of God ( it is hard to blame them on many parts ).  God was going to do a new thing in that the substitutionary death of Jesus had opened the way for both Jew and Gentile to be partakers of the family of God.  His plans were much larger and grander than what they had wanted.

Parents, children, and all others we will both disappoint and be disappointed in this life.  We will most certainly fail others but we can be assured that God will never fail us as He rules and reigns and will be faithful until the end.

²⁵Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:
 ²⁶Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?
 ²⁷And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.  ³⁰And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.
 ³¹And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.

There is always more to the Story when we are dining with the Master.

Father, I pray that you will help us to deal with life's disappointments in a Godly and edifying manner.  That our lives will be marked by a faithfulness in You that transcends our circumstances and will be a testimony to others of your Faithfulness.  Amen