Disappointment with God
MANILA, Philippines - The subject of Philip Yancey’s book Disappointment with God: Three Questions No One Asks Aloud may seem negative at first but you will find the discussion quite honest and uplifting, even faith-building. It’s about a reality we all grapple with at some point in our lives. According to Yancey, “Disappointment occurs when the actual experience of something falls short of what we experience.” It may be as faith-shattering as in the case of Richard, a professing Christian who gave up his faith on God because of a series of personal and family problems that remained unresolved and unexplained. Or it may be less dramatic as the author’s car problems and missed schedules.
You and I have our reasons (and I have a lot) for being disappointed with God.
The author tackles three “questions no one asks aloud” which are: 1) Is God unfair?; 2) Is God silent?; and 3) Is God hidden?
These are the questions that seem to sum up Richard’s complaint against God which, according to him, when answered satisfactorily may somehow restore his faith in God. The author then shares his findings from his personal study of some Old Testament books that there was indeed a time when God implemented a fair system of rewards and punishment, when He would speak audibly and clearly to people and show Himself visibly to them. But despite of this, man still responded with unbelief and disobedience towards God, the exact opposite of what disappointed people would claim to happen.
After man’s tragic fall into sin, God learned how to be a parent (a Father) and became like a Lover who tried to woo His beloved with His love. He knew that power could not win man’s love and faithfulness to Him. Only love could. That is why miracles alone could not change man’s heart. And because man was created with a free will, God wants man to choose to love Him and believe in Him no matter what his circumstances are. All this reminds me that I should appreciate God’s goodness and see His hand in the ordinary and mundane circumstances of life and not always long for spectacular displays of deliverance that are not the sufficient basis of faith.
During the Old Testament times, God spoke through His prophets. Their messages can be summarized in the following statements: God has withdrawn His presence because of man’s rebelliousness. His slowness to act is a sign of mercy not weakness. Though His judgment appears stern, He is suffering with His people. He is ready to forgive at any moment. But in these last days, God has spoken through His son Jesus Christ. Through His Incarnation, we know that God is not silent and hidden. But He did not do away with unfairness for we see Him experiencing the greatest unfairness on the cross. But it is there where the Son absorbed the destructive force of evil and transformed it into love. After His resurrection, Jesus imparted His Spirit to His followers (also called the Church, His Body). The Church is now the representative and expression of God to the world. Her imperfections and the Holy Spirit’s ministry imply that disappointment will continue in this life but the Holy Spirit is also a guarantee of the future reality when all disappointments will soon disappear.
This is a challenge to me, to strive to become a credible and faithful representative of God to others.
In the second part of the book, the author gives us a different perspective on the book of Job. (In case you are unfamiliar with it, the book of Job is in the Old Testament just before the more popular Book of Psalms.) The book deals not only with the subject of suffering but also of faith. The central issue is how Job would respond to his suffering. The wager (or challenge) between God and Satan shows that our response to suffering, or our faith, matters to God. This is the kind of faith that perseveres or persists during testing.
Whereas the first man sinned against God despite his perfect surroundings, now man can choose to trust God despite his adverse circumstances, which Job did. Job may have suffered greatly but he was able to bring something good out of that suffering. There were significant lessons learned, godly character traits developed and vital intimacy with God gained. The pattern in Job’s experience is similar to what happened to Jesus Christ on the cross. First, tragedy, then darkness and finally, triumph. God’s hiddenness and silence are for a purpose and for our own good.
As to the question of God’s unfairness, a modern-day Job named Douglas has this to say, “…We tend to think, ‘Life should be fair because God is fair.’ But God is not life. And if I confuse God with the physical reality of life…then I set myself up for a crashing disappointment… If we develop a relationship with God apart from our life circumstances, then we may be able to hang on when physical reality breaks down. We can learn to trust God despite all the unfairness of life.”
If I accept the fact that God has a higher and good purpose for allowing negative and painful circumstances in my life, then I can rejoice in the midst of them.
All our disappointments are temporary. The author aptly says, “Our disappointment is itself a sign, an aching, a hunger for something better. And faith is…a kind of homesickness — for a home we never visited but have once stopped longing for.” If I believe that someday God will ultimately make everything beautiful again, then I will always have hope. He ends his book with a moving story of his father who slowly died of spinal lumbar polio after his first birthday. His mother related to him that his father would often stare at his family’s picture while lying on the hospital bed until his last breath. And whenever the author looks at that crumpled photo, this thought comes to him, that there is Someone out there who loves him. And that Someone also loves you and me.
This week’s winner
Teofilo P. Casimiro Jr. has a BS Math degree from UP Diliman. He felt the call of God and entered full-time ministry, taking up Diploma in Biblical Studies at Cathedral of Praise Bible College in Makati and Manila. He is EVP of Christian Action for Relief and Empowerment.
