Stress Test Devotional May 4
May 04, 2024
DEUTERONOMY 34:1-4 | Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho, and the Lord showed him the whole land: Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, the Negeb, and the Plain—that is, the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees—as far as Zoar. The Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants’; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.”
One of the hardest things in life is to live with disappointment. It is very difficult when our dreams fail to arrive in the way we have imagined, when we must accept a situation that is flawed and broken. Joseph did not want to be a laughing stock and had not planned on raising someone else’s child. He wanted to marry a virgin and become a father after the marriage. He wanted his family and the community to celebrate this commitment with unreserved joy and support, not to mock it with snide comments and moral opprobrium. What is more, Joseph could not see how God could possibly redeem his situation or bring a greater good. He was bitterly disappointed and decided that the only sensible course was to move on beyond his disappointment and put it behind him. It is wise to remember that all of God’s saints dealt with disappointment. Abraham dealt with infertility, Moses never made it to the promised land, David’s sons plotted against him, Jesus was abandoned by his friends, and Paul was underappreciated by his churches.
When have you lived with disappointment?
Was it possible to sense God at work in the situation?
