March 15, 2022

Isaiah 49: 23 (NIV)

“Those who hope in me will not be disappointed.”

When we don’t become what we think we’re supposed to be, it makes us critical of ourselves and our lives. It causes us to be insecure, oversensitive, judgmental, frustrated, and unfulfilled. We become self-absorbed, constantly having to think about ourselves and what we should be. It forces us to try too hard to make life happen the way we think it is supposed to.*

Many of our disappointments in life stem from our unrealistic expectations. We seem to think that others can read our minds and thus meet our expectations, or we expect them to perform at a higher level than they are capable of. Perfectionists are frequently disappointed in themselves because they can’t meet their own expectations. We misunderstand the promises of God and so we think that he has let us down as well.

Because of these typical human shortcomings, we easily miss the point of this verse. We might hope that God will work things out according to our plans but that is not "hoping in the Lord." Hoping in him means that we put our trust in his solution and his timing. Whether we are control freaks or not, handing our control over to God is something we all have to learn how to do – it doesn’t come naturally to us. Once you have experienced it, you will wonder why you didn’t do it sooner. It is liberating to leave the heavy lifting to the one who will never disappoint you.

Modern Christians . . . often face a Christ who isn’t what they expected or hoped for.*