Richard Maisenbacher
God, in His covenant with us is much more intimately involved in life, not just thoughts. He acts, feels, and speaks. The Hebraic worldview is more doing as opposed to the Greek way of just thinking. To meditate in the Hebrew is not just to sit quietly and focus on things. It is to interact with the Holy Spirit and the community and bring those thoughts into reality. It then becomes relational. This has become a challenge for me and especially for my wife Becky because I like to be quiet and listen more than verbalize. It has been exceptionally challenging for her since one of her love languages is verbal connection. Consequently, I am continually working on that!
I asked the Lord recently if there was anything He would like for me to share about and I heard Him say, “disappointment.” Then the first scripture I was led to was Romans 5:5, “…and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out with in our hearts through the Holy Spirit wo was given to us.”
The beginning of that verse, “…and hope does not disappoint…” It seems I may need to understand hope a little also, so I do not get into too much disappointment. On the drop-down blog posts on www.thecovenantcenter.com Elizabeth Weber wrote a great blog post entitled “Hope.” I encourage you to read it! Her condensed version of hope is “waiting well.” Therefore, Hope… waiting well does not disappoint.
It seems important that we must confront our disappointment with God’s truth. We need beliefs that work when life doesn’t meet what we expect.
The word disappoint in the Greek means “to make ashamed, to dishonor, or to disgrace.” In other words, what God is doing will not make us ashamed. Since we are in covenant with Him and under His direction our experiences will not disappoint us because His love carries us through. I believe God knows what He is doing with me. I may not see His plan, but I know His character and compassion, so I can say “I trust You.” You are my hope, and I am not ashamed to follow where you lead.
Disappointment does imply that I have been frustrated. I can only be disappointed if my expectation doesn’t come to pass. My emotions are dependent on His compassion, grace and mercy and the direction of the Father and Holy Spirit.
I have very high expectations of God. However, I have learned to give Him lots of time to do what He thinks is necessary. I also have pretty high expectations of others who have proven themselves as trustworthy. Having said that, I have low expectations of others. That’s way I am not angry all the time.
This era we walk in now has challenged all of us. We can rejoice in difficulties because they produce patience. We embrace patience because it produces character and is a fruit of His Spirit. We are not disappointed because God’s love is poured into our hearts through that intimate covenant relationship.
Remember, “Hope does not disappoint.” Waiting well does not make us ashamed, dishonored, or disgraced. Why…because His love envelops us and encourages us in a close covenant relationship.
In HIs Covenant Love,
