Thought for Today
Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and bold; have no fear or dread of them, because it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you."
Job 6:20 They are disappointed because they were confident; they come there and are confounded.
Mark 8:18 Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear? And do you not remember?
Romans 5:5 hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
It probably should not come as much of a surprise that the words ‘disappoint’ and ‘disappointment’ do not appear very often in the Bible. The word ‘forsake’ is a bit more common; but, even that word only appears about 50 times. Yet, I suspect that few of our lives have been free from disappointment; and, regrettably, also few lives free from disappointing.
We dream of what might be. We dream of what we might accomplish. We have expectations of ourselves and of others. Sometimes life seems to unfold with complete disregard for our dreams or our expectations. In my own youth, all of the money my parents spent on my guitar lessons and all of my dreams of being a rock star came crashing down on the shoals of my complete lack of talent. So too did my dreams of a professional football career. My hope of becoming a New England Patriot were dashed by my lack of size and of talent.
How are we to cope with disappointments and with disappointing others? It hopefully comes as no surprise that my thoughts turn to “Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Obviously, faith does not offer me the assurance of that rock star fame or of that professional football career. After all, there are dreams and there are nightmares. I suspect I would have found either of those careers more nightmare than dream come true. The music industry and professional sports probably would also have found my participation a nightmare come true.
In my youth, the things for which I hoped and of which I was convince were not necessarily synchronized with the gifts which God graced me with. One of the foundation elements of my ministry is the belief that God has called each and every one of God’s children to service. And, in the words we so often repeated in seminary, “God does not call the equipped; God equips the called.” Our duty is to listen for God’s call, to honestly evaluate our own God-given talents and search for how best to apply those talents in service to God.
“1 Corinthians 12:4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, . . . “
The Lord our God does go with us . . . always. We need not have any fear or dread. God will never forsake any of us as we use the gifts God has given us to advance the Kingdom of God. We will not fail; we will not disappoint. If we use our eyes and ears, if we remember the lessons of scripture, if we follow the guidance of the Spirit, we will advance that kingdom.
We just need to remember those words of Jesus about the greatest commandment, "Luke 10:27 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."
What are your God-given gifts? What talents and interests has God given you? How can you best use those in service to God? How best in service to God’s children? And, for what it’s worth, the answer is not a single point in time. Once I served God as an engineer, witnessing my faith in how I lived my life in a world of numbers and calculations. Now, I am a minister of word and sacrament . . . not a rock star or a professional athlete. To what is God calling you?
Stay safe, listen for God’s call, trust God,
Pastor Ray