Disappointment

So often we look at our lives and we are disappointed that we didn’t get this job or that promotion. We may have worked really hard to give a great interview. You bought new clothes, got your hair cut and practiced for hours on possible questions. In the end you got a postcard saying the position has been filled and your resume will be kept on file for ninety days.
Where do you go from here? Do you go home and watch X-Files reruns? Do you decide to work harder at your next opportunity? When I get to this point I just think of the year 1999. My whole life changed in 1999. It wasn’t fun. It wasn’t easy. I don’t think change ever is. If I ever get disappointed with anything in my life I just have to think about how far I have come since 1999.

I just have to take a step back. Instead of looking at just this one little piece, I need to look at the whole picture. Usually I get goose bumps when I think about what I have accomplished. In eight years my house hold income is three times what it was and this is the least of the great things in my life. I have a wife who is beyond words. As I sit here trying to think of words to describe Lisa, I just can’t think of anything good enough. Words like great, wonderful, and awesome just are not good enough.

I also have the best little girl that has ever been. She is cute. She is polite. She is smart. She is helpful. I have more friends than I have ever had in my life. Not only do I have more friends, I have a variety of friends. I have friends who have moved away, but I can still call them for help or advise if I need.

Six years ago I got a better job. The new job was a quantum leap. This new job was 100 times better than my last job. Today I am about to make another quantum leap to a new job.
I do not say any of this to brag. If I focus on the last job I interviewed for, things don’t look so great. I didn’t get a phone call or even a postcard telling me I didn’t get the job. Instead of looking at the piece I encourage you to look at the picture.

Some light reading

A couple of days ago I was reading from “My Utmost for His Highest”. (August 4th, if you are interested) It is talking about Jesus choosing his apostles. One sentence jumped out at me. “As long as you think that you are of value to Him He can not choose you, because you have purposes of your own to serve.”

We all talk about the characteristics of God. He is forever, everywhere, always right. There are big religious words for these, but I can’t spell them. Basically God is all powerful and we are nothing. There was a second sentence that stood out. “We tend to say that because a person has natural ability, he will make a good Christian.” This sentence sounds correct also. We need people who can do things in the ministry. We need people who can help the sick and poor. We need people who can teach. We need people who can spread the Good News.

What happens when you put these two sentences together? I just couldn't get them to fit. We need people who can accomplish things in the ministry. If we don’t do anything we would be a club. We would meet, but never do anything. The first sentence says if you are of any value God can’t use you.

About the second day after I had first read this the answer came to me. Read the first part of the first sentence again. “As long as YOU think that you are of value…” How often to we (I) think, “I have the abilities to handle this task.” God is going to choose me because I have studied and prepared myself. I can do it. I am ready. I have shown what I can do. I am just sitting here waiting for God to use me.

This sounds funny when I read it, but how often do we think this way?

So we have an almost impossible task of doing things in the world, but we can never think WE are doing to. Our natural ability came from God. We need to do our best in the situations God puts us in.