A country song expresses the singers disappointment with his marriage by saying, “I’m going through the big D and I don’t mean Dallas!” Well, he means ‘divorce’ but we could all sing that line and mean ‘disappointment.’ Have you ever been disappointed? Have you ever spend $5 for a grab bag and find nothing but a few pieces of junk inside? Have you made a business deal and find out you didn’t get what you hoped to get? Have people let you down, disappoint you in the way they behaved, or didn’t behave?
When we lived in Florida, Darlene had taught at one elementary school for about 5 years. She was popular there and even won the “Teacher of the Year” award. When she resigned, she thought she would be recognized in some way. All she got was a mass produced school ball–point pen….you know, the ones they hand out for advertizing! The principle did not write her a card, never mentioned her name nor acknowledged her leaving in any way! Boy, was she disappointed!
You may not have gotten the president you voted for. You may have prayed hard for it, encouraged everyone who would listen and some who didn’t, and voted for the one you ‘just knew’ would be our next commander-in-chief. But before you went to bed, your heart had been broken. To quote the little boy in the old movie, “Say it ain’t so, Joe! Say it ain’t so!” But it was.
This morning, the sun isn’t shining quite as bright as it once did. The sky isn’t quite as blue. How do you manage with this kind of disappointment. Well, Paul has several things to say.
1. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” He did not say to give thanks FOR all circumstances, but IN all circumstances. This keeps our focus on Jesus and not on ourselves.
2. The first three hundred years of Christianity, Christians lived at the whim of the emperor of Rome. They were often arrested, thrown in prison, wrapped in animal skins and fed to the wild tigers and lions in the coliseum. Many Christians shed their blood, yet Paul writes to them in Rome. Romans 13:1-3 says, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing aurhorities for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling aainst what God has instituted and those who do so, bring judgment on themsves.” Pray for our presdent and our leaders We don’t understand how or why they were elected. It may not seem fair. But God’s way is to pray His blessing on them.
Who knows what the next four years will bring. Remember that Christ is King, and that trumps everything and everyone else. To God Be The Glory!