Disappointment part 2
Expectation leads to disappointment. That's inevitable. You know, until we learn how to live--how to love--without expectation. But in the meantime, I think its important to focus on what happens after we GET disappointed. And as far as I'm concerned, as my momma always says, we need to "toughen up." Things don't always go the way you want them to. But if you let that disappointment wreck you, well, that's on you. Let me quote the Message Bible to try to illustrate my point. Its the story of walking on water (or, more accurately, on the Word of God). Walking by faith, not by sight. Except, as we are about to see, Peter got messed up when he took his eyes off Jesus and looked at what was going on around him. "He said, "Come ahead." But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet, he lost his nerve and started to sink. He cried, "Master, save me!" Jesus didn't hesitate. He reached down and grabbed his hand. Then he said, "Faint-heart, what got into you?"" (Matthew 14:29-31). And here's the key: What was going on around him got INTO him. That's what Jesus asked: "What got into you?" And that's when we get messed up. That's when we get wrecked. When we let what's going on on the outside... inside. See, we're always going to go through stuff. Jesus said, "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Life happens. Every day. And if we're still expecting it to go one certain way... well... it probably won't. You SHALL have tribulation. BUT you can be of good cheer. Not because you have been "empowered" to overcome... but because JESUS has already overcome the world. When He did that--when He brought the valleys high and the mountains low--He took away anything we might need to overcome. The reason we struggle so much is because we try to do it ourselves. We try to overcome by ourselves. Instead of using the mind of Christ (that's already in us) by letting it be in us... we try to figure everything out. Make everything make sense. And when you're out on a limb, or walking on water, that doesn't make sense to the natural mind. So if your focus is on the problem, instead of the solution, you're going to sink. Drown. You're not going to be able to keep walking. And, like Rocky said, that's the key to the whole thing. Not how hard you can hit, but how hard you can GET hit and keep moving forward. Keep walking. On water. By faith. Going through stuff, but not letting stuff get into you. Like water off a duck's back, right? And while a duck looks calm on the surface when its swimming, those little legs are working hard. Rest is not inactivity. Its not opting out. It is simply Holy Spirit directed activity. And what the Holy Spirit directs us to do--the ONLY thing the Holy Spirit directs us to do--is love. Let God love you, and love Him back by loving each other. And when you love people out of pure heart--giving because you have something to get, not because you're trying to get--that's when you can live without expectation and avoid disappointment altogether. That's when you can take things as they come and find the love, the mercy, the grace, the forgiveness, the joy and the peace in every situation!