Then we will laugh and joyfully sing as we dance on the ground of this ruinous drawing.
Like it or not, disappointment plays an important role in our journey of faith. Our reaction to disappointment offers a window into the quality of our devotion to God. It reveals how committed we actually are while dispelling inaccurate ideas of a more unwavering faith. Unfortunately, in our zeal to follow Jesus we often profess a kind of surrender we really don’t yet know very much about. But how can we? This is the way of faith. Our growth is progressive.
Learning to trust Jesus as our Lord is something we grow into and we do so by discovering his love and sufficiency in the furnace of disappointment. Just like the smelting of iron extracted from its ore so too is the perfecting of faith through the fiery trials we face . . . if we persevere (James 1:3). And with its strengthening a new world of possibilities emerge where Jesus begins to prove the reality of his life and the power of his presence for our good.
As Christians we must learn to accept disappointment whenever it comes. Scriptures teach that it rains on the just and the unjust alike and Jesus similarly says that in this world suffering is a part of life (Matthew 5:5 and John 16:33). Nevertheless, we must be clear that while God is never the source of our suffering, he can always use it to serve his transforming purposes. Truly the wonder of his love towards us is more often revealed in the somber stillness of dark nights than the buzzing excitement of sunny days. As we trust God through such nights, we literally participate in our own transformation.
We are broken in ways we don’t know. When we profess lordship to Christ we give him permission to rule our lives. But broken places don’t surrender easily. For this reason, sometimes God breaks us in order to rebuild us free from the limitations of our former brokenness. Though the process is painful we’ll later be grateful for this unforgettably severe mercy.
In this life our faith is its own reward, here and now not merely a ticket for a future glory. In Christ eternal life has already invaded today. This one who has defeated death still lives and has pledged himself to us. This is our confession and if we let him he will prove its veracity. As the reality of Christ’s promise slowly sinks into our hearts we will finally laugh and joyfully sing as we dance on the ground of this ruinous drawing. Next week, we continue our theme of stillness as we show our eighth animated poem, Kairos.
What Do You Think?
Have you ever experienced God turning a big disappointment into a major blessing? Did this impact your faith? If so, how so?
♦ To see the video and poem this post is based on, click here.
