Divine (Dis)Appointments

by Christine Caine

So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt." - Genesis 41:41

Isn’t it interesting that the word appointment comes from within the word disappointment? I’ve often marveled at that because I’ve seen again and again how disappointments take something from us: a dream, a piece of our hearts — maybe whole chunks of it. But disappointment leaves something too: a gift, an opportunity, the possibility of creating change.

This means we can move from the valley of the shadow of death to new horizons and bring others with us on that road.

The enemy would like us to feel such a depth of disappointment that we never find our way back to the plan God has for us. If he can convince us to stay stuck in our disappointment, we’ll miss many of our future God appointments. I realize that some disappointments seem so big that we can’t imagine ever being able to move beyond them. We ask deep questions and they go unanswered.

Joseph could have become bitter when he ended up in the pit, was sold into slavery, and thrown in prison through no fault of his own. His dream appeared shattered by disappointment. Yet, because he did not lose hope, he finally stepped into his divine appointment and was put in charge of Egypt.

We too will encounter many disappointments along our journey and must decide ahead of time that we will not allow them to derail us.

So much of our Christian walk has to do with learning to trust the goodness and faithfulness of God despite what happens to us or is happening around us.

This sounds much easier to do than it actually is. When your emotions are screaming and your heart has been betrayed, the door of opportunity has closed, or that relationship has broken down, the last thing you feel like doing is trusting God and continuing the journey. Can I encourage you today with these words? Even if people have disappointed you or circumstances have not turned out as you had hoped or prayed, know that God is with you, cares for you, and loves you. He is working all these things together for your good right at this very moment.

There are many future God appointments on the other side of this disappointment.

Excerpted from Living Life Undaunted: 365 Readings and Reflections from Christine Caine by Christine Caine, copyright Zondervan, 2014.

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