Lately at our ladies’ Bible study, we wrestled with the question of whether we can disappoint God. The query brought a lively discussion and a deeper dive into Scripture. For years my knee-jerk response would have been yes. I believed an angry cosmic being in the sky was wincing at my Christian performance. I envisioned Him as very reactionary to my paltry prayer life and occasional profanity.
One of my friends has sent me a link to a YouVersion Event on bible.com entitled, “Is God disappointed in me?” Any of you who struggle with this idea should check it out. The teaching centers on three questions: How do we know God is not disappointed in our failures? How do we know if God is pleased with us? Can we live free from the fear of disappointing God? I feel these are great questions and ones every Believer has wrestled with.
Truthfully, I used to believe I had the power to make God feel all sorts of negative emotions. But I’ve realized that put me at the center of the Universe and not God. If my behavior can alter His mood, we are all in trouble. Don’t mistake, He has a personality and emotions, which are listed as “fruit of the Spirit” in the Bible. Those traits are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.
I think He put His Holy Spirit inside us so we can enjoy His emotions and personality traits, not the other way around. It’s an exchange system. We give Him our negative junk like fear and doubt, and He gives us peace, joy, and love. The more we hang out with Him, the more we become like Him. He knew who we were when He chose us, so He’s not surprised about our negative junk. That even includes my binge-watching Project Runway instead of reading my Bible.
I know many will disagree with me, and that’s okay, but I don’t believe we have the power to disappoint an all-knowing God. He knew everything that would happen in this world before He ever said, “Let there be light.” He already knew we would need Jesus. He knew I would tend to pop off an occasional curse word and nod off during prayer time. And He still chose me. He still chose you. But honestly, that’s not why He’s not disappointed. He’s not disappointed because the cross annihilated the possibility.
Here’s what God Himself has to say about this subject in Scripture: “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting people’s sins against them [but canceling them]. He made Christ who knew no sin to [judicially] be sin on our behalf so that in Him we would become the righteousness of God [that is, we would be made acceptable to Him and placed in a right relationship with Him by His gracious lovingkindness]” (2 Corinthians 5:19&21 Amplified Bible).
Remember that next time you think God is wringing His hands at whatever wrongdoing you’ve committed. He’s not disappointed in you. You are disappointed in yourself. And the power to overcome those things you don’t like about yourself is found in His acceptance and love.
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