"there has only ever been one perfect man, the Lord Jesus, and we killed him. I only missed a putt."
Not disappointed
Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed. Isaiah 49:23There is always a danger in taking half a verse out of context and applying it to life and sport! This verse comes in the middle of Isaiah’s prophecies, under a heading “The restoration of Israel”. It is a prophecy of better times ahead for ancient Israel but I think it is fine to take it as a universal truth and promise.
The first half is a promise that we can know that he is LORD. In the Bible the word “know” often has a meaning deeper than simple awareness of something, or knowledge of a fact. I know that Emmanuel Macron is the French President but knowing that won’t change what I do this morning!
The implication of Isaiah’s statement is that knowing about the LORD, will lead to knowing the LORD in a life-changing way. The second half of the promise is encouraging but needs to be understood!
If our hope is in the LORD, it is secure. We will not be let-down. We will not be abandoned. We have the assurance of God’s presence. However, it does not mean that our life will be disappointment free. But even in disappointments, we will still have our hope in the LORD.
Someone once described being a chaplain to the Olympics as “Four funerals and a wedding” – meaning that for every happy athlete there are 4 (or 24) disappointed athletes. Remembering that your hope is in the LORD can be hard when it all goes wrong in competition.
We need to keep focusing on God’s promise: “you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed”.