It was Solomon, Israel’s third king, and David’s son, who wrote, “Unrelenting disappointment leaves you heartsick, but a sudden good break can turn life around.”
The language of the King James Bible calls it, “Hope deferred.” In other words, something that is looked forward to, has been placed on hold. To me, the way The Message Bible—the above quote—pens it, paints a more accurate picture. It is more than the “thing” hoped for being placed on hold, it is the disappointment of it being delayed over and over and over again, has taken its toll on the emotions.
Another way to view it might be expecting the arrival of a package. I am expecting it to arrive tomorrow, but tomorrow becomes today, and no package. You might be a bit disappointed, but no worry, it will arrive tomorrow. Unrelenting disappointment is tomorrow turning into weeks, months, or even years!
At some point in that delay, you begin to doubt that it will ever arrive. You feel the sinking feeling of despair beginning the chilling decent from your head all the way to your feet; the happy anticipation, long since replaced by hopeless enduring.
The thing is that you have the receipt of purchase; you only lack the possession of ownership. You have done everything possible to find out where it is, why it hasn’t arrived, or what has caused the delay; all to no avail. So, what do you do?
In all likelihood, you give up; you chock it up to a bad experience. You determine that you will never again have anything to do with that company. You learn not to trust them, even putting out the word about how untrustworthy it is.
This is a sound decision, if, it were a company you were dealing with. What do you do when it is God and his word that you are waiting on? Sadly, many people treat it like the business mentioned above. They write it off as a bad decision, freely offering ample criticism as to why that is so.
It is understandable why they would feel like this, even though unwise to do so. If you find yourself in such a situation, know that you are not alone; but also know that there is an answer.
The journey to a close personal relationship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit is an excitingly scary journey. One of the many things you learn is that the godhead does not look at time the way humanity does. We think in terms on days, or weeks, or years, while the godhead thinks in terms of forever.
The journey to a close personal relationship with the godhead prepares you for eternity, not the temporary time of the here and now. God certainly takes care of the here and now, but the focus is on eternity. The New Testament Apostle, Peter, writes that God will fulfill the promises he makes, but will do so in His time and His way.
This is important, because if we want something within a certain time or way, we are setting ourselves up for disappointment. This doesn’t mean that God will deliberately not provide within that timeframe, it means that his plans and purposes for us, are much larger than our timeframe.
Solomon’s proverb does not stop with “unrelenting disappointment,” he goes on to say, “But …” This means that the answer—or package as it were—will come. Not only will the answer come, when it finally arrives, it will turn our lives around.
So, the question is, what do we do in the struggling in-between? The answer is we believe; the promise of the Word of God, the comfort of the Holy Spirit, and the solace of understanding friends.
The truth is, we cannot loose for winning; we cannot go under for going over; and we cannot be defeated for being victorious!