but Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?…But he [Peter] denied it, saying, ‘Woman, I do not know him.‘” Luke 22:48, 57
July 15-16, 2022
Who of us has not had to deal with disappointment? A baseball game rained out as a youth, a broken heart over a failed relationship as a teenager, and adult life that brings its fair share of people who fail us, goals that allude us, and promises that get broken. Jesus felt the pain of trusted disciples who betrayed Him and denied Him. Jesus suffered in all ways and experienced the emotional blows that we do. How did He handle His disappointments? We know that He “learned obedience through what He suffered” (Heb. 5:8). Disillusionment and demoralization did not attach themselves to Him. What difference does Jesus make to our feelings of disappointment and the mental anguish of twisted circumstances? Jesus had a correct view of people (Jn. 2:24-25). He was under no illusion about human nature. He knew that under the right circumstances Peter would deny Him. He was not surprised at what Judas was capable of and how he would carry out his evil schemes. God can give us the grace to love people, even those who hurt us deeply. Jesus had a correct view of who His heavenly Father was (Matt. 11:25-27). Jesus found the high ground of obedience in a sure confidence in the Father’s sovereignty over all things. Jesus prayed for those who disappointed Him (Lk. 22:31) and understood that evil may temporarily triumph (Lk. 22:52-63). We have more than just an example in Jesus in times of disappointment. He is with us and enables us to be overcomers for His glory. Like Jesus, in the power of the Holy Spirit, we can be obedient to God through the worst of times. As Jesus did, we can fulfill our role as servants. The cross comes before the crown. God the Father could have helped, but did not lift a finger on behalf of His condemned Son (Matt. 27:46). Yet in all things and at all times Jesus was gloriously obedient to the Father’s will. H
A time to pray: “Father, keep me doing what I am supposed to do when disappointments threaten to overwhelm me. Give me the strength to endure injustice and keep my eyes on the joy set before me of being eternally with you.”
“The faith of a single human being does count for very much indeed.” Philip Yancey