Have you ever been let down? Maybe someone you love left you disappointed, perhaps you received a call from a doctor that gave you bad news, or perhaps your child did something that made you disappointed in them. We have all had situations that have given us some sort of disappointment.
This past weekend I texted many of my local friends who have livestock. I was in desperate need of a vet to help my pregnant sheep. This poor sheep had passed her water, but there was no sight of a lamb. I called other shepherds to get advice—they told me whatever you start you will need to finish. I didn’t know what I was doing or how to help her. I had assisted this mother before when the head was out, but not when there was no head. Randy kept telling me to pull the lamb out, but I knew if I didn’t know what I was doing the outcome could be terrible. And it was terrible. After many calls to vets we finally found one. Two women came out and told us your sheep is ready to give birth!! However, she is not pushing or contracting. She is tired. They said the lamb was alive and immediately began trying to put it out. The Vet indicated our sheep was carrying multiples and could not distinguish which feet and head went with what, but they were alive—It was painful to watch them try to pull these sweet lambs out. The ladies were tired and having a hard time. I began pacing and the other animals were all watching, making noise. They too knew something was wrong and this excitement was beginning to start to feel like panic. After many minutes (30) the Vet told us the babies are dead. The pelvis was small and they could not get them out. The mother was smelling foul and they gave us the option to drive the sheep to their clinic to do a C-section but said she probably won’t make it. We watched the mom and babies die. It was horrible and sad to watch. The disappointment was the excitement of having a lamb and then not being able to do anything to help or control the situation. Our farm has lost so many little sheep and we do not know why—we are learning, have dealt with situations that are uncontrollable, and trying to figure it out. BUT wow, it is disappointing. We look forward to getting the pens ready, cleaning them, and watching God’s creation in its splendor—but instead we experience pain, disappointment, and loss.
Oh goodness, do you think disappointment goes with expectation? How about, the higher our expectation… the greater our disappointment? We expect every birth and every lamb to thrive, but it doesn’t. When has your expectations corresponded to your disappointment? I think we can have high expectations about our spouse, marriage, job, and even our children. We get disappointment and can get upset at God. BUT see when we turn our thoughts away from our own expectations and direct them to the truth about who God is, what HE has done, and what HE has promised to do something grand happens. Our trust in Him is revived. We know there is a purpose in it all and it is great—we just need to lift our expectations and see the situation through God’s eyes.
Job experienced so much disappointment in his life. In his disappointment and circumstances, he was determined to praise God. He knew there is no one who loves him more than his Creator. He remembered through it all that GOD is and remains! God reminds Job of all his attributes. Job 38:1-18 says,
The Lord Speaks
38 Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:
2 “Who is this that obscures my plans
with words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone—
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels[a] shouted for joy?
8 “Who shut up the sea behind doors
when it burst forth from the womb,
9 when I made the clouds its garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10 when I fixed limits for it
and set its doors and bars in place,
11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;
here is where your proud waves halt’?
12 “Have you ever given orders to the morning,
or shown the dawn its place,
13 that it might take the earth by the edges
and shake the wicked out of it?
14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;
its features stand out like those of a garment.
15 The wicked are denied their light,
and their upraised arm is broken.
16 “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been shown to you?
Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?
18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?
Tell me, if you know all this.
Do you know who God is? Do you know who controls and made it all? Our expectations don’t have to leave us with so much disappointment if we know who God is and what He controls. We are left to worship Him even when life hits us in directions we can’t imagine or go through. He owns it all and it’s all for His glory. He is worthy of worship in all things and all circumstances!
