How God Deals with Disappointment

Jeff Curtis

The beginning of Exodus chapter 6 shows Moses as being discouraged. He had done what God had told him to do. He had done everything he could for his people. He had attempted to deliver Israel from Egyptian slavery, but none of his efforts had succeeded. Pharaoh had spurned him, mocked him, mocked his God, and rejected his request. Worse, Pharaoh had made life harder for the Israelites. As a result, the Israelites – who had once welcomed Moses (4:29-31) – had turned against him (5:19-21). Moses’ bright hope for Israel’s release had been extinguished. He must have been wondering, “Where is God in all this? What happened to those promises?” So, Moses complained to God (5:22-23).

Did you ever feel as though everything you were doing – even what you were trying to do for God – was going wrong? What should you do in such a situation? You should do what Moses did: even though he complained, he made the right choice in taking his problem to God. Then the story turns to what God did. As we look at what God did for Moses, we can find comfort in our own situations. Let’s see how God deals with discouragement by thinking about what God did for Moses.

God did not rebuke Moses. Moses complained to God. However, from God’s standpoint, his complaint didn’t deserve a rebuke. Sometimes we are too timid to approach God. We have to be willing to speak our minds to God, to share with Him our deepest thoughts. The more direct and personal and heartfelt our prayers are, the more meaningful they will be.

God encouraged Moses. God first reassured Moses that his mission would ultimately be successful (6:1). Second, God encouraged him by giving another revelation about Himself (6:2-4). He reminded Moses the He was “the Lord,” the God of the patriarchs. Third, God encouraged him by telling Moses of His concern for the people and repeating the promises He had made to them (6:5-8).

When we get discouraged, we need to remember theses truths: (1) Though we experience temporary and temporal failures, ultimately, if we are faithful to God, permanent and eternal success will be ours. (2) God loves us and has a personal interest in us. We should take courage in His nature – in His love, His compassion, His power, and His might. Our faith regarding the future is not based on our ability, but on God’s strength. (3) God has promised to be with us. We are His covenant people, as were the Israelites, and we can depend on his promises. He will strengthen us so that we can indeed accomplish everything He wants us to do (Ephesians 3:20; Philippians 4:13).

God met Moses’ need. Moses, in his discouragement, thought he was inadequate for the job; apparently his old feelings of inferiority returned (6:12). Again, the Lord didn’t rebuke Moses. Instead, He met Moses’ need for help and reminded him of his call (6:13). God also will take care of our inadequacies, whether real or imagined. We simply need to remember who is on our side. “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:13).

Do you ever get discouraged because of your failures or because of the way others treat you? If you do, you are in good company – the company of Moses and Elijah, for example. What should we do when we are discouraged? (1) Turn to God. Tell Him your problems, and then leave the matter in His hands. (2) Carry out the commission He agave you. “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary” (Galatians 6:9).

The Responsibility of Being a Parent

by Charles Boshart

Parental responsibility seems to resolve itself into two fundamental duties: 1) Teaching, 2) Providing. Parents must regard themselves as teachers. This is God’s assignment.

Genesis 18:19 says of Abraham, “For I have known him to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of Jehovah…”

Moses said to the Israelites regarding the words he had commanded, “…and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children…” (Deuteronomy 6:7).

In 1 Timothy 1:5, Paul writes to Timothy saying that he is “reminded of the unfeigned faith that” was “in” him “which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and, I am persuaded, in thee also.” He later stated, “But abide thou in the things which thou hast learned, and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; and that from a babe thou hast known the sacred writings…” (2 Timothy 3:14-15).

Fathers must “nurture” their children “in the chastening and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). And children must be given the opportunity to “forsake not the law of” their “mother” (Proverbs 1:8).

Parents are teachers and if anyone is not mature enough to teach children, he/she is not mature enough to have children. “Parenting” (the current fad trend) calls for more than the ability to reproduce.

But, in order to be a teacher, one must be an open-minded learner and observer. “Christians” are, after all “disciples” (Acts 11:26) and they are to be carefully observant of their children. Proverbs 22:6 had previously stated, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and even when he is old he will not depart from it.” The phrase “in the way he should go” is alternately given in the ASV footnote, “conformably to his way,” i.e., the training or instruction “ought to regulate itself according to the stage of life, and its peculiarities; the method ought to be arranged according to the degree of development which the mental and bodily life of the youth has arrived at” (Keil, Commentary… Book of Proverbs, Vol. II., pp. 86-87).

Parents must also regard themselves as providers. This, too, is God’s assignment. Parenthood has time and energy demands that change one’s life dramatically. And these changes concern the well-being of someone else.

Parents should provide a strong marriage for their children. Otherwise, they will contribute to their insecurity. “Wives” should “be in subjection unto” their “own husbands as unto the Lord” (Ephesians 5:22) and “Husbands” should “love” their “wives as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for

it…” (Ephesians 5:25). A marriage should be strong before there are children. Children should not be brought into the world in order to make a weak and faltering marriage strong. This is an adult responsibility, not a childs.

Parents should provide for the physical needs of their children. 1 Timothy 5:8 states, “But if any provide not for his own, and especially they of his own household, he hath denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

Parents should provide an atmosphere that contributes to the developing and maturing of their children. This will call for, among other things, love. “Let all that ye do be done in love” (1 Corinthians 16:14). There should be an atmosphere of accountability. Parents should show they respect “what” “Jehovah” “doth” “require of” them (Micah 6:8). Parents should work to create an active learning atmosphere as they “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). And this will result in an atmosphere of dedication to spirituality.

Parents cannot do it all. Children have their part also (see Ephesians 6:1-3). And children can be failures too. But parents have the responsibility of teaching and providing. This is God’s assignment and the children’s need.

The Preceptor, April 1996