What if God is not disappointed in
you?
How many times have you gone to one of
your children’s sports events or music performance of some kind and the
occasion didn’t go the way they had hoped?
Once my younger daughter was in a swim
meet competition when for some reason, she began swimming in the wrong
direction once she had jumped into the pool and surfaced ready to go. She became disoriented and flustered. By the time she had recovered and began to
swim in the right direction, she was the last one to finish the relay.
Another time when my oldest son was at
his piano recital, his mind went blank after he had played the introduction to
his very difficult piece. Though he had
memorized it perfectly, it took him three or four starts before he could get
beyond the first few notes. His teacher
even offered to give him the music to use so he could play. He shook his head and surprisingly was able
to play the entire piece flawlessly after those first initial attempts.
There were tears, frustration, and
looks of heartbreaking disappointment on both those occasions.
In my experience, when those
unfortunate things happen all of us parents at whatever event it is lean in
—not just me because these might be my kids—but everyone worried for all of the
participants, clapped louder, and cheered harder when each kid finally got
going in their performance. Everyone wanted all the kids to get back up and
finish strong if things were not going well.
When He sees us make mistakes,
He does not distance Himself. When we are frustrated, discouraged, or close to
tears because life is harder than we thought it would be, He is not standing
back in disappointment. He is helping
us rise. He is cheering us on. He is still full of mercy.
I invite you to think about your
own life. Maybe things sometimes have
not gone the way you had anticipated.
Maybe you wish you could get your act together and do better than you
are doing at this time. Let’s face it,
maybe you are just plain tired and every little thing looks insurmountable.
Please know the Lord has not left you
on your own. He DOES see when you are
trying, in spite of being tired. He does
help you plug away when the task of being better seems insurmountable. He stays right there—close by—while you pick
yourself up and attempt again.
God does not give up on His children!
He is merciful, patient, and lovingly
invites us to come back to Him. His very
character invites us to return to Him with hope.
So, let us remember His promise to
always be with us. Not just when things
are going well, but when we find we are going in the wrong direction, or
something we know perfectly well how to accomplish suddenly seems like we do
not know how to take the first step.
Think of that positive cheer people
exclaim to each other now when the going gets tough…
YOU’VE GOT THIS!
