Can we be honest with each other?
And ourselves?
Have you ever felt let down by God, like He did not hold up His end of the bargain?
Admission may be necessary.
I think in our heart of hearts, we can admit that there have been times when we were caught off guard by what God did or didn’t do.
You know those moments- when somewhere in the back of your mind, “A+B” is supposed to equal “C”………but it DOESN’T?
This moment comes to my mind as I begin my year reading through the gospels chronologically, seeking to focus more intently on Jesus. I am in Luke 1:5-7,
In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron.
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.
“But”, that little word with such significance. And it happened to Zechariah and Elizabeth, even though they were righteous and blameless! Back in those days, infertility had a tremendous stigma. Luke 1:24-25,
After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion.
“The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.
I wonder if Zechariah wondered if he was being “good enough” in his priestly duties.
Or maybe deep down, he thought he had some sin issues that needing dealing with. Maybe Elizabeth reasoned she just needed to do better as a wife, or as a friend, or member of the community? Did they feel punished for not doing better?
The Word does affirm they were upright and blameless! Yet, would this make them feel that their obedience warranted a specific return on their investment?
This forces me to come to terms with the fact that everything and everyone can be “right”, and still something else be woefully wrong.
I want to meditate upon this because I have fallen into this faulty perspective without consciously realizing it. It’s like it happens in the deep recesses of our minds. We somehow come to the misguided conclusion that if we do what God wants, we will get what WE want.
Agreements with God may be made.
We enter into an unspoken agreement with God- a bargain.
But the trouble is, God never agreed to this bargain. He DID enter into a covenant, which is far better, but that is not the same as the bargain we are thinking of. In the Old Testament, God agreed on Mount Sinai (Exodus 19-20) to be their God, choosing them to be His treasured possession, and the people agreed to follow and obey Him. God never agreed to grant them their EVERY desire. He didn’t promise them every dream would come true, or that they would have no more struggles or disappointments.In the same way in the New Testament, a new covenant was established through the blood of Jesus Christ. Luke 22:20 describes this new covenant making the old one obsolete. Hebrews 9:15 says,
For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.
The promises God made to us as He offered up His Son on our behalf concerns our sin, the debt being paid with the forgiveness given, and the wonderful opportunity for a relationship we now have as believers in Jesus Christ. We will one day spend eternity in heaven, reaping untold benefits as we worship and know the Lord fully.
But down here on earth, faith is never tied to ALL things easy, with NOTHING left that may be difficult or challenging. He did not promise to grant every prospect, every desire. It was never the plan for God to send His Son to become our Santa.
A new perspective may be needed.
The relationship God offers us through Jesus Christ is beyond our human hope or understanding. There are unfathomable riches of grace that are available to us that He fully intends for us to abundantly enjoy. Love, joy, peace, and strength in Him are just a few.
What God promises, what He agrees to hold up as His end, is far greater than temporal wants and desires. What the Bible teaches us is that He is the greatest desire! Our greatest reward! (Genesis 15:1, Revelation 22:12)
How often do we begin to value Him less and what He can do for us more? Why do we allow our lack of something or someone diminishes our fervor for Him? After all He has done, all He has saved us from and for, should disappointment be allowed to enter into our hearts in regard to Him, distorting our perspective of how gracious a Father He actually is?
What I see happen in my own life, whenever I feel “owed”, is that I have diminished my God and exalted myself. Sin has skewed my perspective. I have lost sight of His grandeur and instead, made much of myself.
This truth was renewed for me recently as I viewed a video describing the greatness of our God.
It was a powerful reminder, a gift really, expanding my awareness of the magnificence of our Lord.
A great principle to remember
After watching this video, I was so embarrassed to think that I knew anything, that I reasoned how life ought to operate. Life is not about my performance warranting a reward. It isn’t that simple and I’m not that “good”.
What needs to be remembered IS what I am owed. But it isn’t what I’m wanting, it is what I deserve! I am owed my own sin debt to pay before a Holy, Righteous God! I am owed eternal separation from Him.
But what have I received in place of that? Utter, complete redemption!
When I feel “cheated”, I actually AM being cheated. But it isn’t by God, it’s by my own hand. I am seeking to settle for a cheap “bargain” deal when I actually have the better covenantal agreement in front of me.
So when I think the equation isn’t adding up just right, as in “A+B=C”, I will remember that God has more than held up His end. He has held up my end as well. With the precious blood of His only Son, He redeemed me.
And that my friends, is far more than I EVER bargained for!
bethany mcilrath says
Gretchen, this is fantastic. Saving it in my favorites. Thank you for flipping this feeling upside down and shaking it out. When we let this idea prevail, we are cheating ourselves and letting ego and self gain block our view of the only one worthy. Amen! This makes me think of Psalm 37:4 : ) Delight in the Lord leads to desires He fulfills, because they are desires He shares and delights in! I know they aren’t always fulfilled as expected, but I believe and have witnessed this truth- if it’s a God placed desire, it’s going to be fulfilled in a way that glorifies Him.
Gretchen Fleming says
Amen Bethany and thank you for your kind words and for stopping by! Don’t you love when He cuts through emotions to give you perspective?! So grateful when that happens:)
Beth says
Love this, Gretchen! It’s so true and yet we fall for that faulty view so often, even when we know better! I’m studying in 1 Peter now, where he discussed the salvation that even the prophets and angels didn’t/don’t understand. It is a mystery to us all, but how could anything God created and completed be something we could fully grasp? It is in the mystery that it proves we serve a God who is far above us in all ways. Thanks for coming by my place and for sharing this important truth that we so often miss in the day to day struggles.
Gretchen Fleming says
My pleasure Beth and I enjoyed your site:) Thanks for stopping by!
Lisa notes says
I bookmarked this video so I can watch it as well. I appreciate Louis Giglio’s ministry so much. One of our greatest trip-ups in faith is when God doesn’t meet *our* expectations. Thanks for sharing this!
Gretchen Fleming says
I wholeheartedly agree on both accounts! Lol Thanks for stopping by Lisa!
Lori Schumaker says
Goodness, it’s so easy to fall into that thought pattern! “But God, I did ___________, so I should get ___________!” I struggled with that for awhile during and after our adoption. My line was, “But God, we were obedient. We were/are following Your call and doing it Your way. Why aren’t You honoring that? Why is this so difficult? Why isn’t our dream working out as we thought?” Thank you for this beautiful reminder, my friend! Several years ago we went to a Chris Tomlin concert where he had Louis Giglio giving a message. It was this very message! Loved it then and love it now!
Thanks so much for sharing this hope with us at #MomentsofHope!
Blessings and smiles,
Lori
Gretchen Fleming says
Thanks Lori for sharing! Whether adoption or any other act of faith exercised, we can be left reeling when it turns out a lot harder than expected. I draw comfort again as the body of Christ is able to relate with one another and draw close to Him and one another. Happy Monday Lori:)
Sarah- Inkblots of Hope says
Ahh, what I breath of fresh air. Thank you so much for courageously articulating what’s been on my heart for years now, Gretchen. I have been forced to wrestle with this topic since there were many at my church blaming me for my severe illness I still currently have. Your words echo a book I just read from Tim Keller called “Walking with God Through Pain and Suffering.” (I plan on writing some of my insights soon on this wonderful book.) We as humans always want to have a formula for why things go awry. We think that if we do this step-by-step procedure, we will get through this life unscathed. Unfortunately, it’s just not so. The rain pours on the just and the unjust, and although reaping and sowing are involved, we do not live in a caste system where we necessarily deserve our treatment. Grace shatters any form of the caste system, making life not fair…but oh, so glorious. For one, those in Christ have a new heaven and new earth to anxiously await! In my moments of blaming God (yup there are those ugly times) I have to remember the unfairness of the cross, and the unfairness that I am allowed access into a new life, with a renewed body. Thank you once again, Gretchen, for writing this. Wonderfully thought out and executed. I will be posting it on our like page soon. 🙂
Gretchen Fleming says
Thank you Sarah for your meaningful feedback, and for sharing my post❤ As I read through the Word, it does what it is supposed to do- reveal my heart and thoughts as I see truth up close and personal. I don’t know where I would be without the Word to challenge me, convict me, and change me. It is amazing to me what surfaces in my heart, as with others, the false assumptions we unknowingly make. They are subtle and oh so destructive to the faith and purpose God intends for us. So thankful His truth shows the better way. Thank you for allowing me the privilege of seeing God’s Spirit at work through this post for you. Bless you?
Erika | Risen Upon Thee says
What a great post Gretchen! This has really helped me, for I’ve been struggling with the “I’m doing what God wants, so why am I not getting what I want?” problem lately. Thank you for your awesome and truthful perspective.
Gretchen Fleming says
I’m so glad you were served here today:) I know those times you speak of well? You might want to check out another of my posts that speaks to the same issue- “Why God May Be Waiting To Solve Your Problem “. So glad you visited Erika!
Hurting says
This is a great story, however it doesn’t take away the hurt and frustration I feel because God let me down. I trusted him to be faithful to his word, which he was. Just not to me. There’s a particular request I’ve been asking for (that I won’t mention here) in which he knows without him interacting, I can’t achieve it. Yet I’ve watched countless of times as he’s helped others while ignoring me. I have to say that this kind of thing doesn’t help my faith to grow. It’s rather disturbing. I realize he’s not our personal genie in a pot. But come on. Even a blind squirrel gets a nut sometimes.
Gretchen Fleming says
Thank you for reaching out and I can understand the tension and angst experienced while we are waiting for something desperately important to us. I have experienced that in my life- some things were answered after years of waiting and some things have yet to be answered. I don’t know if they will ever be but I keep praying and waiting. What I have found out is that looking at what He is doing for other people doesn’t help me persevere. It can discourage me greatly actually. I also learned that by using a gratitude journal where I started to keep a record of what God WAS doing for me and my family, that actually helped me feel joy and encouragement, which helped me persevere as I waited for Him to answer my other prayers. Learning to thank Him and give attention to what He was doing for my good in other areas changed me from the inside out. It grew my faith and contentment. I had to be careful to keep from over-focusing my prayer life around the one thing I was desperate for and by learning to thank Him for the others things helped me to do that. I am lifting you up in prayer right now friend. Don’t give up, keep following hard after Jesus. Consider reading some of David’s Psalms for comfort as you are hurting. They have helped me often, especially Psalm 27:13-14
Hurting says
Thx for responding however this just doesn’t absorb the time and energy that I’ve put in a long with scriptures to accomplish 1 simple thing for us. In the year 2000 I went before God in prayer surrendering all that I was and family to him. I only had one request that he’d help me to get a home permanent home for us. On the way I was led to Mark 11:23 – 24 along with others but this one was one of the most important because it layed the foundation. Keep in mind I said yr. 2000. We’re now in 2020 and that desire is yet to be realized. Every single time we found a home we like, that suits our lifestyle its given to someone else on one pretense. (Money). Though the word says we’re /I’m redeemed from the curse, and lack mind you is an enemy to God, it’s still functioning in this household. Jesus bore it for me, but seems as though I’m responsible for the outcome. Frustrating. I’ve done all I know to do.