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DISAPPOINTMENTS
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a
tree of life.” – Proverbs 13:12
Many of God’s greatest servants experienced deep disappointment in
their journeys of faithfulness to God.
Joseph, after spending years as a slave and in jail for crimes that he
did not commit, revealed deep disappointment when he was forgotten another two
years in prison.
John the Baptist, when awaiting execution, doubted whether Jesus was,
in fact, the Christ because he was sitting there awaiting his death.
Elijah, losing all hope and despondent to the point of death, asked
God to take his life in the desert; and Peter, who left his fishing business
and invested three years of his life only to watch his Savior crucified,
wondered whether the purpose of those three years could be justified.
When life doesn’t add up, it leaves the heart sick.
When we have done all we know to do and the formula has not worked, it
leaves us questioning.
These are times that try the very souls of men. There is no human
sense to be made of it.
We are left with a choice: to cling or not to cling.
There are times when holding on to our
Master’s robe is all that we can do. It is all that He wants us to do.
“The heights by great men reached and kept
Were not obtained by sudden flight;
But they, while their companions slept,
We’re toiling upward in the night.
Standing on what too long we bore,
With shoulders bent and downcast eyes,
A path to higher destinies!” ~ Longfellow
There is only one answer to life’s disappointments.
Like the psalmist, we must “Find rest, O my soul, in God
alone; my hope comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my
fortress, I will not be shaken” (Psalm
62:5-6).
Os has been featured
on CNBC, LA Times, NY Times and many Christian media. He has been a regular
contributor to Crosswalk.com, Charisma, and Christian Post. He has spoken at
Harvard University and was a visiting professor at Regent University for a
season. Os is also an editorial contributor to Crosswalk.com and iDisciple
platforms.
Today Os Hillman is
president of Marketplace Leaders and Aslan Group Publishing, and is involved in
several entrepreneur ventures related to publishing and internet marketing. He
has an online bookstore, TGIFbookstore.com serving the faith and work movement.
He is an author of 18 books, speaker, consultant and recognized authority in
the role that faith and ethics play in the marketplace. Os began sending out a
daily internet email newsletter entitled TGIF Today God Is Firstin 1998.
Today TGIF is subscribed to by more 150,000 people daily worldwide but read by
many more in 104 countries.
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