Isaiah 55:8 & 9 - "This plan of mine is not what you would work out, neither are my thoughts the same as yours! For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than yours, and my thoughts than yours." TLB
I don’t know if it has to do with aging or getting wiser...let’s just suppose it has something to do with getting older, but I am continually intrigued with the expectations we have of life and the disillusionments we so often live in. Today, as I was reading and thinking, these thoughts came to mind.
Expectations too often do not take into consideration unknowns. I have certain expectations when it comes to doing a job around the house, but because of the unknowns I may experience frustration and disillusionment. That little house job almost always takes longer than expected because of the unknowns I run into while trying to finish the job. When dealing with people I can almost always count on my expectations being frustrated because their abilities are unknown to me or their understanding of my expectations is unknown to them. If I am not careful those disappointments can lead to broken relationships. How about my expectations with God.?
I know far too many people who have expectations of God and far too often they experience disappointments in God because of the unknowns. Unknowns like - when is it time for me to die?; or when its it time for my spouse to die?; or will I get cancer?; or will I lose my job?; or why do I never have enough money? You get the picture? I am sure you are right now thinking about those times when you have felt disappointed with God - or at least disappointed with what has happened to you. Times when you can remember asking where God was when....? And we move from there to disillusionment. We become disillusioned with our faith and with our God. If we follow that course we soon live in constant disillusionment with God, religion, people, government, our pastor, our employer even our family. The disillusionment, if not dealt with, can soon turn into depression and we live in darkness for long periods of time. Depression can turn us bitter and we soon find that nothing satisfies.
Here is where I see the problem. We cannot know all there is to know about God and His plans. We know in part because we have His Word. But there are things we will never know. Even Jesus said only the Father knows when He will send Jesus back to earth. Only the Heavenly Father knows when life will begin and life will end. His Word says God knew me before I was even thought about. My expectations of God then are misplaced if I don’t know His plans. Why do tough things happen to good people? I don’t know, because I don’t know the plans of God. Why do the unrighteous seem to get away with the evil they commit? I don’t know, because I don’t know the plans of God. Why do people die, seemingly before their time or at least before we are ready for them to die? I don’t know, because I don’t know the plans of God. But, because I don’t know the plans of God is no call for me to be disillusioned about God. Because my car doesn’t start in the morning does not mean I go around disillusioned about cars the rest of my life. I had no way of knowing my battery was going to fail. To be disillusioned about unfulfilled expectations when we are dealing with unknowns is at best unfounded.
Perhaps a better approach, at least when it comes to our expectations of God is this - understand we don’t understand. Rather than live in unrest, a lack of peace, depression, and disillusionment, could we find rest in trusting that there really is an Almighty God Who really does have a plan? Could we come to an assurance that we are really not as wise as we might think and that there is One who is all wise and all knowing? Could we come to the end of our pride and humbly submit ourselves to the hand of a God who may at times seem to be unloving toward us and others and admit that there is One who has a plan...it just isn’t our plan and things just didn’t work out the way we had them all worked out?
I for one, refuse to be disillusioned about God when everything I expected of God doesn’t work out the way I had it planned. I will, instead choose to love Him anyway and submit my expectations to Him to be adjusted according to His ways which are higher than mine. I will not blame God for the ills of this world, instead I will blame the hearts of men who continue to place unrealistic expectations on people to understand, unrealistic expectations of people to live according to their plans, unrealistic expectations of God to see that only the things I want are realized. I will adjust my thinking to include this thought - I don’t know and I don’t understand. But, I don’t find anywhere in the Bible calling me to understand. I find repeated scripture calling me to follow God in faith believing His plans are best.
As I write this - it gets longer and I must stop. But I have more thoughts about all of this. Maybe another day. I don’t know about tomorrow, but another day...if it is in His plans.
You are loved,
Pastor Roger