Disappointment

I think disappointment may be, historically and individually, one of the biggest obstacles to faith. They are like reverse sides of a coin - opposite responses to what happens when your expectations meet the hard truth of reality.

It's been with mankind since the beginning. Abraham and Sarah felt it as they grew old without a promised son. Surely Joseph felt it as the walls of an Egyptian prison mocked the dreams he had of his family bowing before him. The Israelites felt it as they ran up against the Red Sea. David felt it as he, the Lord's annointed was hiding in caves. Elijah felt it as he fled for his life after calling fire from heaven in a test of who was truly God. Jeremiah felt it as he watched Jerusalem get ravaged. Peter felt it when Jesus was carried away.

It's an old enemy, and a constant companion. But we have the choice of remaining in it, or seeing through it to the promise that the story isn't over yet. And once we have that mindset - once we know that the story is not complete, we recall that Abraham and Sarah had a son, the Red Sea parted, David was made king, and Christ walked out of the grave. Just because we have to live one sentence at a time doesn't mean that today's plot twist is the end of the book.