disappointment

Sandcastles

Posted on by Shawn

Sandcastle

We spend much of our time on artificial pleasures in order to fill a void, but it’s never long before God reminds us that He is the only source of long-lasting fulfillment.

Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will cause you to rest. (Matthew 11:28 AMP)

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me…For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matthew 11:29-30 NKJV)

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. (Psalm 32 AMP)

Because the summertime is swiftly approaching, I’ve been thinking a lot about the many days I will spend at the beach enjoying the long-awaited warm weather. As I googled some tropical destinations I would like to visit, I started thinking about the beach trips I took when I was younger. I used to be fascinated by the array of the beautiful sandcastles that were scattered all over the beach. I wasn’t much of an architect myself, but I remember sitting and marveling over the creativity and the detail some of these structures had. But as the day went on, at some point, a huge wave would come and suddenly those beautiful, intricate structures were leveled into a puddle of sandy mud in a matter of seconds. It didn’t matter how far from the shore those structures were built, eventually the tide would rise high enough to reach every last one. That part always made me sad because I knew how much time went into their creation and now there was nothing to show for it. Read More

It’s Deeper Than That…

Posted on by Shawn

Matthew 9:2-8 (NKJV)

Tip of the Iceberg

Many times, we ask God to fix our surface-level issues, but God knows that those issues are just the tip of the iceberg…

2 Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.” 3 And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes!” 4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? 6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” 7 And he arose and departed to his house. 8 Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled[a] and glorified God, who had given such power to men.

This story is interesting to me because many times, we bring our petitions to God looking for Him to heal something very specific. This misguided expectation is exactly what leads to our disappointment and frustration with God. Many times, we become confused and are convinced that God isn’t listening to us. We even begin to doubt His mere existence because we set our sights on the wrong part of the issue. What I love about the Lord is that He always sees the big picture. He always sees what we cannot see. The onlookers of the miracle in this story missed it when Jesus said to the man, “your sins are forgiven.” Instead of rejoicing, the people challenged Him because they expected Him to address the man’s physical illness, which caused him to be unable to walk. But the Lord chose to address the man’s sin, which led to his paralysis in the first place. Read More