But…God

Many of my friends have said 2025 has been a tough year. From financial hardships to personal health issues to unexpected deaths, the journey has been challenging.

It was Solomon, Israel’s third king and David’s son, who wrote, “Unrelenting disappointment leaves you heartsick, but a sudden good break can turn life around.”

The King James Bible uses the phrase “Hope deferred.” In other words, something that is looked forward to has been placed on hold. To me, the way The Message Bible — the quote above — pens it paints a more accurate picture. It is more than the “thing” hoped for being placed on hold; it is the disappointment of it being delayed over and over and over again that has taken its toll on the emotions.

Another way to view it might be expecting the arrival of a package. I am expecting it to arrive tomorrow, but tomorrow becomes today, and no package. You might be a bit disappointed, but no worries, it will arrive tomorrow. Unrelenting disappointment is turning into weeks, months, or even years!

At some point in that delay, you begin to doubt that it will ever arrive. You feel the sinking feeling of despair, beginning the chilling descent from your head to your feet; the happy anticipation, long since replaced by a hopeless endurance.

The thing is, you have the purchase receipt; you only lack ownership. You have done everything possible to find out where it is, why it hasn’t arrived, or what has caused the delay; all to no avail. So, what do you do?

In all likelihood, you give up; you chalk it up to a bad experience. You determine that you will never again have anything to do with that company. You learn not to trust them, even putting out the word about how untrustworthy they are.

This is a sound decision if it were a company you were dealing with. What do you do when it is God and his word that you are waiting on? Sadly, many people treat it like the business mentioned above. They write it off as a bad decision, freely offering ample criticism.

It is understandable why they would feel this way, even though it is unwise. If you find yourself in such a situation, know that you are not alone and that there is an answer.

The journey to a close personal relationship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit is an exciting and scary journey. One of the many things you learn is that the Godhead does not look at time the way humanity does. We think in terms of days, or weeks, or years, while the Godhead feels in terms of forever.

The journey to a close personal relationship with the Godhead prepares you for eternity, not the temporary time of the here and now. God certainly takes care of the here and now, but the focus is on eternity. The New Testament Apostle Peter writes that God will fulfill the promises He makes, but will do so in His time and His way.

This is important because if we want something within a particular time or way, we are setting ourselves up for disappointment. This doesn’t mean that God will deliberately not provide within that timeframe; it means that his plans and purposes for us are much larger than our timeframe.

Solomon’s proverb does not stop with “unrelenting disappointment”; he goes on to say, “But …” This means that the answer — or, as it were, the package — will come. Not only will the answer come when it finally arrives, but it will also turn our lives around.

So, the question is, what do we do in the struggle in between? The answer is we believe; the promise of the Word of God, the comfort of the Holy Spirit, and the solace of understanding friends.

The truth is, we cannot lose for winning; we cannot go under for going over; and we cannot be defeated for being victorious!

This is true, perhaps even more so, in the lives of my friends who have endured difficult challenges in 2025.

They weren’t living sinful lives or walking in disobedience to God.

Had that been the case, they could have understood that the disobedience opened the door to such heartache.

However, in their situations, disobedience wasn’t the issue.

Jesus tells us in the Gospel of John, 16:33,

You will have tribulation in this world, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world.

The Apostle Paul tells us in II Timothy 2:3 to endure hardship as a good soldier.

The point is, life is a journey with many ups and downs, and encouragements and disappointments.

But…God

Allow me a Bible College preacher saying.

Goats, but while sheep obeyyyy!

Corny, I know, but I trust you catch the intent — obey God.

However, in this case, the “but” is the pause before God shows up in life-changing ways.

The beauty is, he is still in the “showing-up” business.

Enjoy the journey.

The call of the Spirit is going out across the land for light bearers and (wisdom-speaking) truth givers to bring the words of life to a lost and dying world — one person at a time.

The journey is exciting and scary, and I am thankful to everyone willing to follow along as I take it.