A Moment With Pastor Fred

It was Christmas 1979. I opened my present from my mom. I was greatly disappointed. Instead of cool things she had gotten me in the past – it was a toolbox. It was a reminder now as a married man with a house of my own I would need a screwdriver and a hammer.

That wasn’t my last disappointment in life. Sometimes disappointments are devastating. Dreams don’t materialize. We are left disillusioned, angry, hurt. “Hope deferred makes the heart sick,” Prov 13:12.  Such was the case of Naomi. Life had dealt her a hard blow. And she was bitter. Job however responded in a godly way to disappointment. “The Lord gave and has taken away – may his name be praised.” Job worshiped. Naomi finally saw God fill her empty life. And though Job wrestled with God’s silence he experienced vindication at the end. 

You and I will face disappointments. Some will be quickly forgotten; others will have life-altering consequences. We need to trust God in such times. We won’t have all the answers and even if we did it wouldn’t make the pain go away. But God can be trusted. He is faithful. No matter what happens in life, we are to love and worship him. In the words of Job, “though he slay me I will still trust him.” Don’t let life’s disappointments derail your faith. God’s grace will prove sufficient in your weakness. When you are weak, Christ will prove himself strong.

And that toolbox? It no longer is a disappointment but a cherished reminder of my mom’s love and thoughtfulness to me even when I didn’t understand or appreciate it.