Dealing With Disappointment
Success is Spiritual
We tend to compartmentalize our lives, separating the spiritual for other areas
Jesus is concerned about the whole of your life:
3 John 2
I wish above all things that thou may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers.
When Jesus healed – demonstrated His concern for our health
He is concerned about our mental & emotional well-being – “He restores my soul”
The miracle of the catch of fish showed that He has a word about our professional lives
His 1st miracle was not at church – when He changed water into wine (best wine)
He made it clear that His concern for us goes well beyond what we define as “spiritual”
Jesus shows us repeatedly that He is concerned about every aspect of our life
He wants us to be whole, balanced, prosperous, successful, and joyful
The Lord has a word for your success
But sometimes it’s hard for us to hear or accept or obey that word
The word never profits us, because we do not mix it with faith
3 Types of Faith
¨ Public – what I say openly. ex. spiritually correct
¨ Privately – what I sincerely think I believe. ex. Peter @ Last Supper
“Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you!” – Mk 14:31
¨ Core – what is revealed by my actions / behavior
I don’t say “I believe…” I don’t “think”… I just do
The word has to reach our core faith
Our experiences outweigh our faith
Exodus 6:6–9 (ESV)
Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.
7 I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.’ ”
9 Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses,
because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.
“Shortness of spirit”
Moses is sharing promises from the Lord
The people had prayed for freedom
But they are hard for the people to hear & accept & believe in their core
Because their experiences had Worn Them Down
And caused something to Brake On the Inside
You want to believe
But some things have only gotten worse since you gave hope a place in your heart
Moses is trying to encourage the people
But it wasn’t that long ago that he was having a hard time believing God
He was filled with doubt about doing what the Lord was calling him to do
He started making excuses
To the point that the Lord became angry with Moses
It’s almost easy to understand God’s anger
When you consider that Moses had been prepared for this moment
Moses had been raised in the palace of Pharaoh –
· “the son of Pharoah’s daughter” & a Prince in Egypt
· Afforded an exclusive education – could read & write, understand blueprints, etc.
· exposed to the affairs of state and was familiar with Egyptian protocol
On the other hand, he had been taught Hebrew customs by his birth mother
And now had spent the last 40 years inside the culture of a third set of people
· This land would serve as the transitional dwelling for God’s nation
No one was better qualified than Moses for this task
This calling from God was aligned with the desires of Moses’ heart
(God does not call you to anything that does not align with the way He made you)
Yet Moses resisted
The same is true for us – our inner longing is for success
But when God nudges us toward it, we resist or drawback
Today we need to look closer at what was behind Moses’ resistance
Disappointment had broken his spirit
Before Moses could act as a deliverer
the Lord had to deal with his disappointment
When the Lord came to Moses about freeing His people
Moses had already tried and failed
He had seen how the Egyptians oppressed the Hebrews
You see, in Moses’ first shot at deliverance, he killed an Egyptian
Instead of the Hebrews seeing him as a brother and accepting him
They rejected him – that wasn’t what he expected
When Pharaoh found out what Moses had done, he had to run for his life
So, instead of leading one group, he was now rejected by two groups
This unfulfilled expectations led to disappointment
And his disappointment caused him to doubt himself
So when God offered him a second chance, he declined
Moses is clear about his insecurities when he’s refusing God
But you have to listen closer to hear his disappointment:
“I was trained for greatness, but now I’m herding sheep.
I was raised in the palace, but now I’m a nomad in the desert.”
Okay, here’s what I’m really thinking:
I would have sacrificed being a prince in the palace to deliver my people
I already tried, but they didn’t want me.
I cannot go back there
So Moses spent the last 40 years living in disappointment
But the deliverer cannot be someone living inside the trauma
That’s why the Lord had to deal with Moses’ disappointment
We’ve all faced disappointment
When what we expected doesn’t happen, it affects our faith
And we don’t want to be disappointed again
It becomes easier to just not try & let go of our desire & hope
But the Lord wants to deal with your disappointment & pain
He wants to heal your heart so your ear will work & faith will work
God’s Rx for Moses’ disappointment; “I Am with you” (Ex 3:12-14).
Exodus 4:2–3
So the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A rod.”
As a shepherd he became skilled with a rod
Guiding the sheep, protecting the flock, dealing with dangerous situations
The rod became an extension of his arm
represented Moses’ authority, his strength, and his power
This rod had come to represent his skill & became associated with his identity
3 And He said, “Throw it on the ground.”
You have something in your hand
– some ability, enablement, gifting, skill, talent, creativity
They represent your identity
The Lord says, “Throw it down”
Don’t be confused – that is not to dishonor what you have
You are throwing it on Holy ground
When he threw it down, God made it come alive
Then He told Moses to pick it back up
Moses was going to need it to part the Red Sea & water from the rock, etc.
You’ve got “it” in you – what you need to accomplish “it” is in your hands
But, if your rod has not first been thrown down,
Nothing will happen when you lift it up
Throw it down on Holy Ground & let Him return it to you “Alive!”
Your ability – the extension of your “right arm”
Will become an extension of “His right arm”
After God brought Moses’ rod to life, Moses called it “the Rod of God”
But God called it Moses’ rod (Ex 14:16; 17:5).
It’s your rod, it’s your ability
Don’t let your Disappointment interfere with your Ability
Your Ability is what’s going to bring you through the Disappointment
Your Ability that will give you Prosperity & Success
Throw your Ability on Holy Ground
And watch God start to make some things come alive
And have faith when He says, “Pick up YOUR ROD!”
When you lift up your rod, destiny-type things are going to happen
He’s acquainted with disappointment
And He is interceding for us that our faith does not fail