Skip to main content

Thursday... Sometimes it seems that we are a disappointment.


Luke 13:8 (NLT), "Then Jesus told this story: 'A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he always was disappointed.'"

Thursday... Sometimes it seems that we are a disappointment.

Do you ever feel that you are a disappointment and you feel so worthless? 

Luke 13:8 (NLT) says, "Then Jesus told this story: 'A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he always was disappointed.'"


Now he doesn't stop there but that is where so many stop. They find that they are a disappointment and they just stop. And that is true of the other side, the one who is disappointed. They too just stop and live with it.

Jesus continues his story. In verse 7 he says, "Finally, he said to his gardner, 'I've waited three years, and there hasn't been a single fig! Cut it down. It's just taking up space in the garden." And that is one way to handle it. And that is how so many people solve the problem. They just give up. It's just a waste of time. They just aren't living up to my expectation for them and even for myself.

My dad said something that has stayed with me. He said, "Too high expectation brings about frustration." And that can be so true. Maybe our expectations for us and for them are too high and that is where our disappointment comes in. Maybe we need to stop and reevaluate before we just give up.

I love verse 8. Jesus goes on and says, "The gardner answered, 'Sir, give it one more chance. Leave it another year, and I'll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer."  And then verse 9, "If we get figs next year, fine. If not, then you can cut it down."

Disappointment can be such a defeating word or it can be a wakeup call. It is our choice.

Proverbs 24:13-14 says, "My child, eat honey, for it is sweet to the taste. In the same way, wisdom is sweet to your soul. If you find it, you will have a bright future, and your hopes will not be cut short."

Maybe we need some wisdom here. Maybe this disappointment can be seen as honey, sweet to the taste.  "In the same way, wisdom is sweet to your soul. If you find it, you will have a bright future, and your hopes will not be cut short." Yes, we need wisdom in our lives to really evaluate our disappointments. "If you find it, you will have a bright future, and your hopes will not be cut short."

Yes, disappointment can be your friend. 

Proverbs 24:12 says, "Don't excuse yourself by saying, 'Look, we didn't know.' For God understands all hearts, and he sees you. He who guards your soul knows you knew. He will repay all people as their actions deserve." Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Thursday... Maybe we need this word today.

Psalm 57:1b (NIRV), "There I will stay until the danger is gone." Thursday... Maybe we need this word today. There are words in life that give us confidence no matter what we are facing. Now we have to believe them in order for them to have an impact. David wrote Psalm 57 while he was in a cave hiding from Saul who wanted to kill him and he says in the last part of verse 1, "There I will stay." It was a safe place and Saul didn't know that he was there. But he doesn't stop there. With confidence he said, "There I will stay until." And until is definitely a word of faith and confidence. "There I will stay until the danger is gone." Do we need that today? Let me give you the whole verse. In verse 1 David says, "Have mercy on me, God. Have mercy on me." And that is a great place to start in times of trouble. Maybe that is what we need to pray today, "Have mercy on me, God. Have mercy on me." It is so great to have someone...

Tuesday... We just have trouble listening.

1 Corinthians 13:7 (NLT), "Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." Tuesday... We just have trouble listening. Over in Jeremiah 25:4 (NLT) it says, "Again and again the LORD has sent you his servants, the prophets, but you have not listened or even paid attention." And Jeremiah went on to tell what was going to happen. There will be consequences if we do not listen to what God says through his Word. Now the Apostle Paul over in 1 Corinthians was having a problem with some professed Christ followers who were having trouble at listening. And we too can have problems at listening. We can think that being a Christ follower means we do a lot of finger pointing and we give up on people who don't do what we say. We can even do that in our families. But Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:7 (NLT), "Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." In verse ...

Friday... It is so exciting but wait a minute.

Proverbs 19:2 (NLT), "Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes." Friday... It is so exciting but wait a minute. This time of the year is so exciting. We get our paycheck from work and then we head to the store or Amazon and buy and buy and buy all those presents and then our check is gone Proverbs 19:2 (NLT) says, "Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes." But buying gifts can be so much fun and seeing how happy they are when opening those presents makes us feel so good. But then verse 3 says, "People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then they are angry at the Lord." Now for some that is their life. They get money and they spend it on their wants with no thought of what needs to be paid. An important lesson that we have learned is just because you have money in the bank doesn't mean you must spend it. But our enthusiasm takes over. But the problem is when it is gone and there is no money to pay th...