{"id":87,"date":"2011-07-17T21:01:54","date_gmt":"2011-07-17T20:01:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/?p=87"},"modified":"2011-07-17T21:01:54","modified_gmt":"2011-07-17T20:01:54","slug":"no-disappointments-psalm-31","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/?p=87","title":{"rendered":"No disappointments! Psalm 31"},"content":{"rendered":"

Life is full of disappointments!<\/p>\n

We have hope \/ expectation \/ longing and what we want to happen does not, or something we don\u2019t want does!<\/p>\n

Areas of disappointment<\/p>\n

Disappointment with LIFE<\/p>\n

Work or school or exams; sport; music; hobbies<\/p>\n

Sometimes disappointments are because expectations were unrealistic
\nSilly to be disappointed about not winning the lottery! Especially if you never bought a ticket because you realised gambling was not only a sin but a waste of time!<\/p>\n

Sometimes disappointments were unexpected, undeserved
\nOverlooked for promotion.<\/p>\n

Disappointment with PEOPLE<\/p>\n

Work, friendships, relationships<\/p>\n

Sometimes it\u2019s not their fault<\/p>\n

Sometimes it was their fault<\/p>\n

Disappointment with GOD<\/p>\n

Life not working out as we hoped
\nWe looked for God\u2019s blessing and blessing did not come
\nPrayers not answered in the way we would like<\/p>\n

God does not disappoint people! So if we are disappointed it is because we misunderstood \/ did the wrong thing \/ asked for the wrong thing. Often God is trying to teach us patience and faith but we want him to give us patience immediately \u2013 right now!.
\nEffects of disappointment<\/p>\n

We can be disturbed, distressed, discouraged, dismayed, disheartened, depressed, distraught, disaffected, disillusioned, downright dismal, even (as Edmund Blackadder would say) discombobulated (real word = disconcerted and confused).<\/p>\n

Disappointment leads to pessimism and a negative view on life.<\/p>\n

We can become cynical \u2013 Murphy\u2019s Law \u2013 general laws of life:
\n“Whatever can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time,”
\nIf you think there\u2019s nothing wrong, you havent understood the problem.
\n“Make something idiot-proof, and they will build a better idiot”.
\nSpecific laws – The odds that the falling toast will land jam side down are directly proportional to the cost of the carpet.
\nIf you\u2019re running late the bus will be early.
\nThe odds are six to five that the light at the end of the tunnel is the headlamp of an oncoming train.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s sad when people get disappointed by life.<\/p>\n

Disappointment makes us not want to try again – not want to hope.
\nAlexander Pope \u201cBlessed is he who expects nothing, for he will never be disappointed!\u201d<\/p>\n

Disappointment traps us in our comfort zones \u2013 we aren\u2019t prepared to take any more risks. We don\u2019t like to hope because we fear our hopes will be dashed.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s very sad when people get disappointed by other people.<\/p>\n

Disappointment makes us close in on ourselves.
\nIt stops us from taking the risk of trusting other people and makes us rely on ourselves.
\nIt stops us from putting ourselves in a place where we might get hurt again.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s very sad when people feel that God has disappointed them<\/p>\n

Disappointment stops us from praying bold prayers \u2013 we only pray \u201csafe\u201d prayers.
\nIt stops us from stepping out on a limb in faith for God \u2013 we won\u2019t risk being disappointed again.
\nIt stops us expecting miracles from God!
\nIt stops us from getting excited about God!<\/p>\n

Are you feeling disappointed about anything tonight? Disappointed with life? Disappointed with other people? Disappointed with God?<\/p>\n

ANTIDOTE TO DISAPPOINTMENT
\n1. Take your disappointments to God<\/p>\n

If life has disappointed us \u2013 if people have let us down \u2013 take it to God!
\nHave we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
\nWe should never be discouraged; Take it to the Lord in prayer.
\nCan we find a friend so faithful Who will all our sorrows share?
\nJesus knows our every weakness; Take it to the Lord in prayer.
\nAre we weak and heavy-laden, Cumbered with a load of care?
\nPrecious Saviour, still our refuge, Take it to the Lord in prayer.
\nDo thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer;
\nIn His arms He\u2019ll take and shield thee, Thou wilt find a solace there. <\/p>\n

God longs to help us and heal us and give us his peace.<\/p>\n

Paul Montacute of Baptist World Aid was reminding us this morning that many people around the world have lives which are far harder, far shorter, far more pain-filled than our lives generally are. Through poverty. Or through persecution. So in the hard times WE need to learn to trust God as much as those believers do.<\/p>\n

ROM 5:3-5 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. <\/p>\n

If following God leads to disappointment, and discouragement, even suffering or persecution \u2013 don\u2019t give up! True hope in God WILL NOT disappoint us.<\/p>\n

MESSAGE v 5 In alert expectancy such as this, we\u2019re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary\u2014we can\u2019t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!
\n2. Put your trust in God<\/p>\n

We may feel that in the past God has let us down. That we have trusted God and we have been disappointed <\/p>\n

Isaiah28:16 So this is what the Sovereign LORD says:
\n\u201cSee, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;
\nthe one who trusts will never be dismayed. Will never be disappointed.<\/p>\n

That verse is so important that it is quoted at least three times in N.T. Rom 9 and 11 and
\n1 Peter 2:6 \u201cLook! I\u2019m setting a stone in Zion, a cornerstone in the place of honor.
\nWhoever trusts in this stone as a foundation will never have cause to regret it.\u201d MESSAGE
\nChrist is the cornerstone! If we build our lives on Him He will never let us down. He is the sure unshakeable foundation. He will NEVER disappoint us! No disappointments!
\n3. Put your hope in God<\/p>\n

There are no hopeless situations \u2013 only people who have lost hope!
\n\u201cHope is not a passion for the possible, but a passion for the promise!\u201d
\nWith God ALL things are possible. If we will only trust in God\u2019s promises.<\/p>\n

Psalm 25 1To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul; 2 in you I trust, O my God.
\nDo not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me.
\n3 No-one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame, (will EVER be disgraced!)<\/p>\n

ISAIAH 49: 22 This is what the Sovereign LORD says:
\n\u201cSee, I will beckon to the Gentiles, I will lift up my banner to the peoples;
\nthey will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their shoulders.
\n23 Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down before you with their faces to the ground; they will lick the dust at your feet.
\nThen you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those who hope in me WILL NOT be disappointed!
\nNo-one whose hope is in you will EVER be put to shame!<\/p>\n

These are the promises of the ALMIGHTY all powerful Sovereign God who is MORE THAN ABLE to keep his promises.
\nThese are the promises of the HOLY and JUST God who is totally righteous and would never break His promises.
\nThese are the promises of the ALL-LOVING God who IS love \u2013 who loves us so much that he gave His Son Jesus Christ to redeem us \u2013 who loves us so much that He would NEVER let us down!<\/p>\n

Those who hope in me WILL NOT be disappointed!
\nNo-one whose hope is in you will EVER be put to shame!<\/p>\n

You may be disappointed about something tonight. Something small. Something big. Something overwhelmingly crushing huge! Disappointed with life. Disappointed with people. Disappointed with God. Take the antidote to disappointment tonight.
\n1.Bring your disappointments to God \u2013 open up – tell him how you are feeling.
\n2. Put your trust in God again. Take a leap of faith. He is completely worthy of our trust.
\n3. Put your hope in God again. Pray prayers of faith daring to expect God to do great things. You may have asked for blessings before and the answer has been \u201cno\u201d. Pray again tonight \u2013 dare to hope that this time the answer will be \u201cyes\u201d. No disappointments!
\nThose who hope in me WILL NOT be disappointed!
\nNo-one whose hope is in you will EVER be put to shame!<\/p>\n

But then, what else can we do when somebody has upset us? When they let us down? When they break their promises? When they say things which are spiteful or untrue? When they do things which damage us physically or mentally or emotionally or spiritually? What do we do when somebody hurts us? If anyone says, \u2015I love God,\u2016 yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. (1 John 4:20) Part of this loving each other is an obligation to forgive one another when we get things wrong. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (Colossians 3:13) C.S.Lewis has said, \u2015Everybody agrees forgiveness is a beautiful idea until we have something to forgive.\u2016 George Herbert wrote, \u2015He that cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass if he would ever reach heaven, for everyone has need to be forgiven.\u2016 The essence of Christian forgiveness is that God makes a way for us to be forgiven BEFORE we repent. \u2015It was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us.\u2016 (Romans 5:6-8) As Jackie Pullinger puts it, \u2015Jesus didn\u2018t wait for me to make good before he died for me.\u2016 The Father is out looking waiting for the prodigal to return BEFORE the prodigal comes to his senses and returns to his Father and confesses and repents. (Luke 15) The paralysed man in Mark 2:5 and the woman caught in adultery in John 8:11 are forgiven BEFORE they repent. We should seek the grace to forgive others before they repent, before they apologise, even if they never do admit their wrongdoing or say sorry. The story goes that when Leonardo da Vinci was painting the Last Supper, he had an intense, bitter argument with a fellow painter. Leonardo was so enraged that he decided to paint the face of his enemy into the face of Judas. That way the hated painter’s face would be preserved for ages in the face of the betraying disciple. When Leonardo finished Judas, everyone easily recognized the face of the painter with whom Leonardo quarrelled. Leonardo continued to work on the painting. But as much as he tried, he could not paint the face of Christ. Something was holding him back. Leonardo decided his hatred toward his fellow painter was the problem. So he worked through his hatred by repainting Judas’ face, replacing the image of his fellow painter with another face. Only then was he able to paint Jesus’ face and complete the masterpiece. Jesus said, \u2015Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.\u2016 (Matthew 5:23-24)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Life is full of disappointments! We have hope \/ expectation \/ longing and what we want to happen does not, or something we don\u2019t…<\/span><\/p>\n

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