Disappointment And Delight

Life is full of disappointments.

 

Oranges with more pips than flesh.  Trains being delayed.  Computers crashing and losing your work.  Rain after you have straightened your hair.  Photocopiers jamming when you're in a rush.

 

And it's not just things that can disappoint us.  People can too. 

 

We can feel let down by other people and by God.  They let us down, or they don't pull through for us.

 

But the worst feeling of disappointment is disappointment in ourselves.  We feel that we haven't just let ourselves down, but have let other people down, too.  It's like we have to feel the disappointment twice.

 

I've just been enjoying another dose of The Gilmore Girls. Rory doesn't get an internship that she was really hoping for and, as well as being disappointed herself, she feels that she has disappointed everyone else too.  And that feeling is worse than just being disappointed in herself.

 

Similarly, we can feel that we have disappointed other people too.  Or, even worse, we can feel like God is disappointed in us.

 

Yesterday, I wrote about how God's love for us depends on what He is like and what He does, not what we are like or what we do.

 

But it goes further than that.  God doesn't just tolerate us because that's His nature.  He loves us and delights in us.

 

        "For the Lord your God is living among you.
        He is a mighty saviour.
        He will take delight in you with gladness.
        With his love, he will calm all your fears.
        He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”

 

        [Zephaniah 3:17 NLT]

 

 

When she doesn't get the internship, Rory's mum comforts her, saying,

"You could never be a disappointment to me. Ever. Never ever. Never ever ever."

 

And God says the same to us. 

 

Delight.  Not disappointment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Face To Face

I love chatting to people, but there is nothing quite like talking face to face.  I often find myself saying, "I haven't seen you in ages!" even if I have spoken to someone on the phone recently, or have been texting or emailing them.

 

There is something about seeing someone face to face.

 

When we are face to face with someone, we can see their reactions.  We can read their thoughts and see their emotions.  We can hear the pauses in their conversation and the changing tone in their voices.  There is something different about being close enough to someone to look into their eyes.

 

It creates intimacy and allows for authenticity.  It's harder to pretend you're fine when someone can look into your eyes and see that you're not.

 

The Bible says that Moses enjoyed this privilege in speaking to God face to face:

"The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend."

[Exodus 33:11 NIV]

 

Often we can feel as though we couldn't look God in the face, because we are too sinful or ashamed or guilty.  We think that if He looked into our eyes, He would be disappointed.  But through Jesus, we can have a close and intimate relationship with God. 

 

We can talk to Him face to face.

 

Paul describes this beautifully in his letter to the Corinthians:

 

"God said, 'Light up the darkness!' and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful."

 

[2 Corinthians 4:6 MSG]

 

We see God's love for us when we gaze into the face of Christ. But we have to choose to spend time with Him, talking face to face.

 

And as we look into the face of Christ, we see and understand that God is not disappointed in us, or ashamed of us.  He is delighted in us and rejoices over us.