From Christianity Today online. A thoughtful and mature piece of pastoral writing, in my opinion. It reflects something everyone of us has struggled with from time to time, and it has the power to be a faith-breaker. Read it and see what you think.
In other words, like John we are disappointed with Jesus because we do not see what he is really doing. It turns out that we have been laboring under a major misapprehension. Jesus came for us, but that does not mean that he came to please us. Jesus came for us, but he does not answer to us. He will not subject himself to our agenda, no matter how good that agenda might be. Instead, Jesus demands that we submit ourselves to his agenda.
Is the solution to our disappointment, then, to “suck it up” and “tough it out”? Or to admit that “life is disappointing” and resolve to “get over it”? No, just the opposite. Jesus’ parting words to John’s disciples were words of both blessing and warning: “Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me” (Matt. 11:6). These were the last words that John would hear from Jesus before his death, and they are Jesus’ last words to us in our disappointment—no matter what the cause.
In the face of great disappointment, we usually ask for an explanation. This is because we foolishly think that an explanation will make us feel better. Has it ever occurred to us that it might do the opposite? Instead of an explanation, Jesus offers something far superior: himself. When it comes to disappointment, there is no other remedy. It is the nature of disappointment to match us measure for measure. As long as we hold on to it, disappointment will wrap itself around our heart like a great snake. The tighter we hold on to it, the tighter it will grip us. The only way to free ourselves is to bow the knee to Christ.