God Wraps His Best Gift In Disappointment
Hello Bride of Christ,
Ever struggle with failed expectations? You hoped for one thing and received another. You planned for it and it never came to pass.
Today we will look at three women who were fully acquainted with disappointment, but if you read their story you may never see it or know it. Not because they hid the emotion or acted like everything was ok, but because they learned to look at disappointment as a stepping stone to hope.
Infertility
As we read in the book of Luke we will learn about Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah and their struggle with infertility.
Luke 1: 6-7 "Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old."
Although her husband and she walked with the Lord they still had to walk through the disappointment of infertility. So how did they deal with it?
Scripture tells us they prayed, not just once, but in fact for many years. They continued to be faithful in the ordinary and everyday responsibilities the Lord gave them. Then one ordinary day, while Zachariah was found faithful completing his priestly duties an angel appeared to him.
Luke 1:13 "But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John."
Elizabeth's stepping stone to hope was that she knew she wasn't going to always feel disgrace, that it would pass. Wrapped in Elizabeth's disappointment was the forerunner of Christ! Not an ordinary child at all for scripture declared John to be a joy and delight not only to his parents but to everyone! If that was not enough scripture said he would have the spirit and power of the great prophet Elijah, to turn the hearts...to make ready a people prepared for the Lord!
May Elizabeth's story remind us to pray because God is listening. We may be disappointed for a season, but God is wrapping something beautiful inside the core of the disappointment, so hang tight.
Teen Pregnancy
As we continue our reading in Luke we will come to Mary. Who at this time was only a teenager arrange to marry Joseph.
Luke 1:26 -37 " In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, 'Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.' Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.' 'How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?' The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.'"
Even in unfavorable circumstances we must accept what the Lord has given us. Mary's stepping stone to hope was acceptance. She accepted the Lord's plans for her life; it is what it is; acceptance of what God has allowed for now because there is purpose in the now. So Mary responded “I am the Lord’s servant,” “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her." Luke 1:38.
Wrapped in Mary's disappointment was Jesus, Her Lord and Savior, Her salvation! The world's salvation! May we learn from Mary to accept whatever comes to pass in our lives so that we can appreciate and recognize our greatest blessings.
Solitude
Last but not least, let us read and learn from Anna, the prophetess.
Luke 2:36-37 " There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four."
Instead of wallowing in her disappointment of loss and loneliness, scripture tells us she never left the temple but worshipped night and day, fasting and praying. Anna's stepping stone to hope was God's presence she took her disappointment as an opportunity to throw herself completely into the presence of the Lord, fasting and praying in the temple night and day. We can too! Like Anna we can remember we have a God who's presence allows us to not feel or be alone.
Wrapped in Anna's disappointment of not having a companion was that she met the baby Jesus face to face cause she was in the right place at the right time because she remembered to be in the presence of the Lord.
How about you?
Disappointed?
Pray.
Accept.
Remember.
Remember God wraps His best gift in disappointments. Like these women, He will use your disappointment to provide a stepping stone of hope... hope to allow you to see greatness, experience Jesus intimately, and be in His presence!
