OVERCOMING OUR DISAPPOINTMENTS!
1 Timothy 6:1-21
INTRODUCTION: Have you ever had your eye on one thing, and if you could have it you would never want anything else for all your life? For me, when I was six years old it was my older brother’s friend, Dale Peterson’s authentic Roy Rogers holster and cap gun set. I let my parents know Christmas was coming and that would be the perfect gift and if they got it for me there would never be anything else I would ever want. It is not a little boy thing to think “If I could just have that one thing that is all I would ever want!” It is a human thing to always be discontent with what we have and can only be content if we could just get that one thing.
I. DISCONTENT IS A SERIOUS SIN!
In the 21st century there is just as much temptation to turn to discontent, complaining, grumbling, and ingratitude as at any other time in the history of mankind. We can all praise the Lord when everything is going the way we want it to go. But how do we fare when things don’t go the way we want them to go? The children of Israel praised the Lord when He took them out of Egyptian slavery. But when He led them into the Desert of Shur the story changed: Exodus 15:22-27. God met their need but their attitude did not change. The word “grumble” is used nine more times. Exodus 16:1-3 is more grumbling and Exodus 16:9-16 the Lord still met their needs. When the Lord met their needs did that change their attitudes? Exodus 17:1-4; Exodus 17:5-7. Could the lack of thankfulness and contentment in Israel, even though God supplied all their needs be true of you and I today?
II. DISAPPOINTMENTS OPTIONS!
What options do we have when disappointment comes into our lives? Choice number one: We can chose life the children of Israel to complain and grumble: Our prize: 1 Corinthians 10:10; Proverbs 15:15. Choice number two: We can seek new things, friends, experiences, or jobs: The prize: Luke 12:15: The constant seeking new things is a treadmill leading to nowhere. Choice number three: We can chose to learn to trust our Father’s will for our lives and learn to be content: Philippians 4:6-7: The prize 1 Timothy 6:6-10; Philippians 4:11-13; Proverbs 15:15-17.
III. GOD’S PLAN FOR HIS CHILDREN!
Our Lord has a loving plan for His children: Exodus 15:25-26. Because God loves His children, He tests His children. His purpose is not to harm us but to mature our faith so we will continue to trust and obey Him. We need to remember our Lord’s loving provision for us: God does not always give us what we deserve, nor what we want, but He always gives us what we need! Exodus 16:14-18. We must recognize God’s presence in our circumstances: Exodus 17:1-7. When it is our time for testing do we: Question God’s presence? Question God’s goodness? Question God’s omnipotence? The danger for all of us is we can get so caught up in our circumstances that we forget our Lord’s character and promises: Hebrews 13:5-6. We are to mature in our faith so that when the Lord allows testing in our lives we stop all our grumbling and complaining and fault finding and grow up in our faith: James 1:12; James 1:2-4. Don’t allow the fog of this world to choke out your trust in your Lord: Luke 8:14; 2 Timothy 1:7. It is time for us to trust our Lord and walk in His sunshine! Hebrews 4:1-3.