Disappointment

Hopes dashed again.

It's Memorial Day here in the US, but this doesn't really have much to do with that. It's just that I got a call from ‘Raymond’, our prisoner ‘for the Lord’ (Eph. 4:1) who is using his life sentence in order to minister to Muslims. Seems he was talking to the assistant chaplain, who told him that I should be able to do a ‘pastoral’ visit. I had tried that before, but gotten nowhere. But sometimes things can change with a new situation, and especially an evangelical chaplain.

So I called him (the new chaplain) at the appointed time to arrange things. But I got the HEAD chaplain on the phone, which wasn’t supposed to happen.

I’m not quick on my feet. Slow processor, sort of like an old 386 in comparison to most people’s ‘i7’ (Intel’s newest one, if computer language means anything to you). So I rather stupidly talked to the head guy, instead of waiting until I could get the man I wanted.

That was the end of that. No visiting rights for me.

Needless to say, that did not make my day. After all, I’m just trying to minister to a guy in prison—a follower of Jesus who needs encouragement like we all do, right? And I've been trying to visit Raymond for more than two years. So why do I seem to always hit brick walls, or stumble over my own feet?

(Did I mention that I’m a Chicago Cubs fan, too? And Texas Tech. Go figure. But it has to do with personal history; all I’m saying is that you’d think I’d be used to disappointment by now.)

Speaking of brick walls, we got news that one of our good friends—former ESL student in the Middle East, had his house bombed. He had just left his bedroom to go to another room when an RPG hit the side of the house where he had been.

More news this morning: our former landlord in the Middle East was able to return to his house with his  family, except that all of the windows have been blown out by the random shelling.

So I guess disappointment is relative. What’s important, I think, is to do what Peter says (in 1 Peter 4:1): ‘to arm ourselves with the same resolve’? And what might that be? Peter is referring to the sufferings of Christ for us, which He went through ‘in order to lead us to God’ (1 Peter 3:18).  In other words, all that Jesus went through was orchestrated by the Father, who, Paul tells us, was in it all, ‘reconciling the world to Himself’ (2 Cor. 5:19).

Very often we do not understand why God is allowing certain things to happen—especially to our Muslim friends in the Middle East.

I was sitting here, thinking, ‘boy if I only had access to some powerful military, I would intervene on their behalf, destroy ISIS, or whatever’. Then it occurred to me that I have access to the only Power that matters, and the Father does hear our prayers.

We can’t just believe in the Sovereignty of God on Sunday morning: ‘God the great Creator of all things does uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest even to the least . . . ,’ (Westminster Confession, Chapter V, on Providence) we have to apply it daily.

I believe that God knows what he is doing.

Even through disappointment and suffering. 

Especially then. Come to think of it, maybe Memorial Day is a good day to post this after all.