I know someone. She is smart, organized, she works hard and she treats you well……….. as long as she gets what she wants……. exactly what she wants….. on exactly the terms that she dictates. When she doesn’t get what she wants, she goes on the attack and she hurts everybody within reach……. ultimately, including herself. She doesn’t have a lot of friends…….. because sooner or later they all encounter her rage. They wander off in search of a friendship that is just a little easier………and safer.
Ultimately, her drive to get what she wants costs her…….. It costs her the most valuable thing in life……… relationships. When I think of her, it seems such a shame.
BTW, she doesn’t follow my posts…….ever……..so if you think that she is you……….she’s not.
Then I look around. She is an exaggerated example of something pretty common. I know a fair number of people who treat God much the same way. We start out in life with the best of intentions…….. everything is going well. Then one day something happens……… and we don’t get what we want. Our spouse leaves us……… Someone important to us dies……. We get sick….. Lose our job. Maybe we pray hard about it…….maybe not. Then, we don’t get what we want…….at exactly the time that we want……..on exactly the terms that we dictated. We end up in the same place. We wind up using the same phrasebook that she does: we say ” it’s not fair!” or “I can’t accept a God who would allow_________to happen!” In a word…… We get mad at God because we didn’t get what we wanted.. exactly what we wanted…….on exactly the terms that we dictated.
This would be completely appropriate, if we were the boss and God was our “personal assistant”. But, that…..of course……is not the case. God is the creator of the universe…….. our creator. And we are children. When we get mad and lash out at God, it is exactly the same as when our 2 year old throws a tantrum and dumps his strained carrots on the floor.
So………this post is about disappointment………and how we handle it. What do we do when the things that are happening in our life don’t line up with our “master plan”. What do we do when we want Cocoa Puffs and we get strained carrots.
We can throw a fit……….and the carrots……….or we can trust that our father, mother, and God love us and are operating with our long range well being in mind………even when God’s long range plan isn’t clear to us……even when it messes up our short range plans. And let’s face it……all of our plans are “short range”.
I have seen many triumphs and more than my share of disasters. My “master plan” went into the recycling bin a long time ago. It’s very easy to take credit for the triumphs and get mad about the disasters. But, if you accept the fact that God loves you and will take care of you over the long haul, then you develope an attitude of thankfulness……….and hopefulness……not just for your triumphs…….but also for your disasters.
And that is a very good place to be.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
God, NIV