Disappointed
Have you ever been disappointed?
This could range from the breakfast entry you ordered being not good to a close friend talking smack behind your back. These disappointments, to various degrees, shake our faith in each other. We want to believe that trusted person would always back us up.
Sometimes, that trusted person has no idea that is how you are interpreting their actions. A simple driving example should illustrate that. Have you ever been driving and suddenly realized your lane merges into the other one well after that other one backs up? You may not intend to bully your way in front of others driving patiently in the queue and from their perspective, they may believe you are trying to take advantage of them. In this case, the merger isn’t trying to take advantage but the mergee, not knowing this, believes he is.
Take that mental image and imagine how the Jewish people felt.
“Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops; siege is laid against us; with a rod they strike the judge of Israel on the cheek. But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace. When the Assyrian comes into our land and treads in our palaces, then we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princes of men; they shall shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod at its entrances; and he shall deliver us from the Assyrian when he comes into our land and treads within our border. Then the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples like dew from the Lord, like showers on the grass, which delay not for a man nor wait for the children of man. And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among the flocks of sheep, which, when it goes through, treads down and tears in pieces, and there is none to deliver. Your hand shall be lifted up over your adversaries, and all your enemies shall be cut off.” - Micah 5:1-9 ESV
They had prophets with a God given message about the messiah. But when I read the above, without the knowledge of what I know now, I’d expect a ruling king to come as well. They had to be disappointed to finally feel on the verge of the prophecy being fulfilled to have Jesus nailed to a cross. How short sighted they were. How misguided they were to try to squeeze God in their culture’s defined box.
God is sovereign. God has the ultimate plan for the universe. I don’t know about you but every time I feel disappointed by God’s plan compared to my expectation, I need to remind myself of the Jews, Micah and Jesus.
Ultimately, as I look back over my life, some of my hardest failures and disappointments, God has used to mold me into a better person. Lord, here I am. Let your will be done.
