“Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth” (Psalm 73:25 NASB).
Disappointments are a fact of life. The more we accept this fact, the less disappointed by disappointments we’ll be. One of the major problems with the health and wealth, prosperity gospel is that it makes us feel entitled to trouble free lives. When troubles do happen we feel let down and think God is treating us unfairly.
This is not a new thing. The psalmist had been going through some major disappoints in his life. He couldn’t understand why he was getting the short end of the stick when people who couldn’t give a rip about God seemed to be prospering. It troubled him so much that he contemplated giving up on God and punting his faith. Been there; done that.
Then, he realized that no matter how good it gets for the non-believer down here, it’s as good as it’ll ever get. Further, no matter how bad it gets for the believer, this is as bad as it will ever get. We have heaven waiting!
And, this is the value of disappointments. They help us realize that the thing that really makes heaven, well, heaven is that God is there. They also help us prioritize our earthly pursuits. We recognize that the things this world deems important – possessions, pleasure seeking, and power – will all pass away with it (1Jn. 2:15-17). So, we find ourselves increasingly desiring God until anything the world could offer us pales in comparison to gaining Him.
© Paul R Downing, Daybreak Devotions
Oh, how we should celebrate our disappointments! They are His appointments to teach us to count all things loss for the surpassing value of knowing Jesus Christ our Lord! (Phil. 3:8)
