Is God Disappointed in Me?
Share
Let’s define the word "disappointed." According to Websters 1828 Dictionary, disappointed means “Defeated of expectation, hope, desire, or design; frustrated.” It’s akin to an authority figure (parent, teacher, mentor) or a beloved one (spouse, etc.) saying with surprise, “I expected so much more of you and you failed.” The defeat extends to the one with expectations, as if it’s a vicarious fail. Sounds harsh, but that’s what disappointment is.
As a Christian, though, if I do the wrong things, is God disappointed in me?
Is God Ever Disappointed?
To answer this question as best we can, we must look at God’s character and attributes as defined by the Bible. We can also go point-by-point through the list included in the definition of disappointed.
1. God is Infinite – God’s being and immensity have no limits. Psalm 147:5 states God’s “understanding is beyond measure.”
2. God is Immutable – God never changes. He just is and He will always be what He was and is.
3. God is self-sufficient – When we speak of the aseity of God, we mean He is independent. He doesn’t need us because He is complete in Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
4. God is omnipotent – He is all powerful according to His perfect will.
5. God is omniscient – He knows everything and everyone from all of time (and He created time).
6. God is omnipresent – He was, is, and will be everywhere forever.
7. God is wise – He is wisdom
8. God is faithful – Even when we aren’t (2 Timothy 2:13).
9. God is good – Goodness is light, and in Him there is no darkness (1 John 1:5)
10. God is just – He is perfectly righteous (we, however, waver on this according to our flesh).
11. God is merciful – He is kindness unbounded and He keeps us from what we deserve (death). His forgiveness is part of His mercy.
12. God is gracious – He gifts us with what we do not deserve (eternal life with Jesus).
13. God is loving – He is love.
14. God is holy – He is wholly other (set apart).
15. God is glorious – His infinite and perfect beauty and greatness causes awestruck wonder.
Can God be disappointed in us? Yes, according to His standards, but His disappointment is better stated as displeasure. In the Bible, the use of the word disappointed is always used of men toward men, and not of God toward men.
Romans 1:18-32 remains a concise theological treatise on the faults of men who refuse to honor God or give Him glory for Who He is or what he has done. The Message version translates God’s wrath (Romans 1:18) as “God’s angry displeasure.” He knows we have no excuse for our grievous sins because “Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things (sinful acts) deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them” (Romans 1:32).
God created us in His image and we reflect Him by our emotions and actions; the only good in us is Jesus. We, as imperfect humans, however, can let our emotions get the better of us and allow them to control us. We look at the perfect from an imperfect point of view, so, allowing for the definition of disappointed as posted above and as regards God’s attributes, He isn’t surprised when we sin, because He already knows when we will, and we all do. He is not given to rule by emotions, because He is perfect in all of His ways. His character is such that he is perfectly balanced; that is, His wrath works in perfect harmony with His love and mercy. We, on the other hand, often eschew mercy and even love when anger envelopes us.
God gave us His Law (Exodus 20:1-17) and we now know the Law was given to reveal sin (Romans 3:20).
God looks at all of us through His perfect heavenly lens. Only believers are seen through the Person and work of Jesus Christ, who bore all our sins on the cross (hallelujah!). Jesus said He came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17), and thank God because we can never perfectly follow the law as delivered to Moses in Exodus 20.
I Still Sin; Is God Disappointed in Me?
As we ponder our Christian selves, we are limited in knowledge and wisdom, finite in experience, and confined to a worldview that, while kingdom-centered, remains earthly. For now, it’s all we know. When we are in our glorified state, we will be perfected in glory (1 Corinthians 15:40, 43; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 1 John 3:2). Only then will we understand all God wants us to understand.
At the Judgment Seat of Christ, Pastor Don Stewart writes, “The Bible says unbelievers will be judged in the first sense - condemnation, while believers will be judged in the other sense - rewards.” Only then will we be spotless from the stains of the world in which we now live, and will be pure, clothed in white linen (Revelation 7:9,13, 14; 19:14).
We are in the already-not-yet, strangers and aliens here but we are, “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, (Ephesians 2:19). We Christians are in the kingdom which will be fulfilled when Christ brings about an end to this age of grace and ushers in His righteous kingdom.
For now, while we live as sojourners and exiles, we remember who God is (our Father), who Jesus is (our Lord and Savior), and who the Holy Spirit is (our Helper who has sealed us in Christ).
1 John 1:9 tells us when we sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Yes, He is displeased, but He is a forgiving and just Father. He, as our heavenly Father, disciplines us as only a perfect and holy Father can. We accept the discipline as part of our sanctification and continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, for He disciplines those He loves (Hebrews 12:6).
Is My Shame a Good Thing?
Look at the history of the Hebrews. Every time they disobeyed the Lord God, they displeased Him and they paid many consequences. Their shame at displeasing God caused them to repent and seek His mercy (The Old Testament is full of the accounts of Israel’s rebellion/disobedience, repentance, and restoration). Exodus 20:5 is God’s command to the nation, “You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me.” They were to take His commands most seriously — it truly was a matter of life and death.
Our surrender to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord is a matter of life and death, too. To refuse His kind invitation (Romans 2:4) is like saying, “I don’t need You or Your commands, God” as you shake your fist at Him. The ultimate answer to what displeases God is our decision to follow and love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength — or not.
1 John 5:10-13 is a succinct revelation of the consequences of unbelief, “Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.”
What Must I Do to Please God?
We must make a choice whom we will serve: Jesus or the devil. There is no middle ground (Mark 12:30).
When Jesus shared the greatest commandment(s) with one of the Jewish rulers, Scripture notes, “And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40).
The Bible tells us we are to speak the Gospel to please God, for He is the One who tests our hearts (1 Thessalonians 2:4).
The whole of the Bible serves to teach us about God, and the Lord Jesus Christ is revealed throughout Scripture. The Gospels and the Epistles teach us explicitly about Christ and how to walk in Him and please God (1 Thessalonians 4:1).
Romans 8:8 is a short verse which speaks volumes about how we are to please God, “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” So, then, to please God, we should:
Abide in Christ (John 15:4-7).
Be filled with and yield to the Spirit. Do not grieve Him (Romans 6:19; Ephesians 4:30; 5:18).
Pray with thanksgiving and praise (1 Thessalonians 5:17; 1 Timothy 2:8).
Read your Bible, meditate upon it and study it (Acts 17:10-12).
Know your role as one of Christ’s ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20.)
Surrender to Him every day. Take up your cross and follow Him (Mark 10:21), and die to self every day.
Do not be conformed to the world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind (Romans 12:2).
Rejoice in Him always (Psalm 150).
Grieve the sins of men (Romans 1:18-32) and pray for them.
Pleasing God is analogous to looking at life as a half-full glass. When we realize the joys inherent in His character and His plans for us, we can’t wait for Him to completely fill us with His Spirit and do the good works in Christ Jesus for which He created us (Ephesians 2:10).
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Khosrork
