MY BLOG POSTS

My last post addressed dealing with Christians who have disappointed us. As promised, this post is about dealing with being the ones who do the disappointing.

It happens. We sin. Sometimes, we sin in huge ways. We, who know what God wants us to do, know that He knows what is best for us, has a plan for us, loves us more than we can possibly imagine, behave in ways that break his heart.

So what can we do? How do we make it right?

Let’s take a lesson from King David. He fell in a major way: lusted after Bathsheba, acted on that lust, covered up the fact that he acted on the lust, and then orchestrated the murder of Bathsheba’s husband so no one would know about that lust (2 Samuel 11). Pretty awful, right?

But David, the Bible tells us, was a man after  God’s own heart. God loved him far too much to allow David to “get away” with these sins. So God sent the prophet Nathan to confront David (2 Samuel 12). Before we talk about how David responded, though, let’s consider what he didn’t do:

• Make excuses
• Blame someone else
• Compare himself to others who did way worse
• Minimize his sin
• Get angry at Nathan for calling him out

Here’s what David said after Nathan’s confrontation: “I have sinned against the Lord.”

He confessed his sin. Period. No justifications, no equivocations, no finger pointing. Psalm 32 shows us a glimpse into this confession. David says when he stayed silent, his “strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.” But when he confessed, God forgave. And with forgiveness came renewed intimacy with God and joy.

So how do we deal with sin in our lives? We confess it.

It sounds simplistic, but it is one of the hardest acts we ever do. Temptation from within and without encourages us to do anything but accept blame for wrongs committed. Maybe you’re there. Your strength is sapped because you’re hiding your sin, or you’re redirecting it from yourself to someone else. You’re angry at the sins of others but blind to your own. Stay there and you will remain exhausted, frustrated, cynical. Confess! Accept the freedom and joy that comes from forgiveness.

Maybe you have confessed, but you can’t let go of the guilt. You don’t “feel” forgiven. In that case, your faith is misplaced. It’s in your feelings and not in the word of God. Scripture tells us that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9, emphasis mine). Trust in this promise, not in your guilt.

Maybe you have asked and accepted God’s forgiveness, but there are others you have hurt. You need to seek their forgiveness, as well. They might not give it to you, they might say hurtful things. But you still need to do your part to right the wrongs you committed. God will help you respond with grace and forgive them for wrongs they may do or have done to you. And you may be surprised at the restoration that can take place when you confess. There are few things that deepen a friendship like acknowledging wrongs and seeking forgiveness.

If this is you – make today the LAST day you live with the guilt of your sin. Confess and be restored. And rejoice!

People can be very disappointing. Especially Christian people.

I have been a Christian for almost 30 years, and in that time, I have watched people who I thought were really great Christians do some really rotten stuff.  I have seen people walk away from the church and the faith because of the rotten things Christians have done.*

So how do we deal with the “rotten” that we see? Because, unfortunately, it WILL happen. For most of you reading this, it already HAS happened. And maybe you’ve thought about just giving up on this whole “Christian” thing because it just doesn’t seem to work.

My answer, in this case, is something I’d advise against in other circumstances: Think about yourself.

I know it sounds simplistic. But hang with me.

You are responsible before God for YOUR heart. And God commands us to love Him with all of our hearts (all our minds and strength, too). In order to do that, we have to surrender all of ourselves to Him. Daily. We have to give HIM control over our hearts.

When the Holy Spirit controls our hearts, we can remain firm when others are shaken. But when we don’t give Him control, our hearts are vulnerable. Our faith is tied, not to the Creator, but to His creation. And when they fail, we falter.

I’m not saying you won’t be disappointed by others or that you won’t be hurt. Having hearts surrendered to God doesn’t insulate us from hurt. But it does give us a Rock to cling to when we are hurting. He is a shelter in the storm, our strong tower, our ever present help in times of trouble. In fact, when disappointment hits, we need God more than ever, not less. Don’t turn from him, turn to him.

Because one day, you will stand before Him. Do really want to have to say, “Sorry I didn’t talk with you much, God. But it wasn’t my fault. It was those others…” I promise you, when that time comes, when you see Jesus face to face, you’ll wish you’d spent every minute of your life worshipping Him, because, at that moment, you’ll know nothing is more worthy than that.

*There are times when WE are the ones who disappoint others. How do we deal with being the “disappointer”? I’ll address that in my next post.