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Can God Be Disappointed in You?

Recently I listened to a Jody Moore podcast with Kurt Francom.  I've enjoyed listening to Jody's podcasts because she frequently has some good insights into how to think about things to better handle our lives and emotions.  This particular podcast was about whether or not God can be disappointed in us:  https://jodymoore.com/gods-thoughts-kurt-francom/.  It's well worth the listen. I'm going to try to sum it up here.

Here's something to think about:  how does God feel about us?  We hear that God always loves us but how does he feel when we mess up?  Does he feel disappointed with us?  As a parent, I am frequently feeling disappointed with my children (or frustrated might be a better word) when they don't do what I would like them to do.  But I still always love my children even when I'm disappointed or frustrated. So is that how God is? Does he love us but still get disappointed in us?

Kurt Francom says no.  He says that disappointment as defined in the dictionary means that it involves some element of surprise.  When my children don't do what I ask, I'm frequently a little surprised which leads to disappointment. But God knows everything, right?  He is omniscient; if he wasn't then he would cease to be God.  So God CAN'T be surprised.  He knows that in 5 minutes or weeks or years, I'm going to mess up in some significant way despite my best efforts--and he loves me in spite of this knowledge.  So God CAN'T be disappointed!  He knows how to love perfectly.  He knows that our sins are already covered by Christ's sacrifice and the way back is already created.

Kurt calls this grace. God loves me even knowing I'm going to blow it. And if we accept that grace, we can get rid of the shame that drives us away from him.  We can stop identifying ourselves by the mistakes we're making--which takes us away from God--and instead identify ourselves as his children and recognize his love. Above all, God wants us to connect with Him so we can feel his love.  

Kurt talked about how his oldest daughter started taking her first steps when he was home with her and his wife wasn't there.  So he started filming it for his wife.  The whole video is full of his encouraging words for his daughter.  Of course she was going to fall. Of course she was going to stumble and get discouraged.  But, just like any parent, he kept encouraging her and telling her she could do it, comforting her when she cried.  Now he sees that video as an analogy for how God is always encouraging us.  He's asking us to turn back to him, to come back to his love, to try again, knowing full well we will fall again.


That's the parent I want to be.  And that's the child I want to be too--always getting back up again and feeling confident in God's love.

***I think the creative cameraman for Mindy learning to walk was Jan (or possibly David) and for Camille, it was Garrett.

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