When You Disappoint, You Get More

Pastor Stan Mons

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Sermon Transcription:

As we were worshiping, I could see that line through worship so clear, where there was a real attack, a real organized work, to see fear eradicated out of the life of the true believer, out of the life of those that have fled to Jesus to take refuge in him. Those that have said, "I need a savior. I need forgiveness. I need someone that is stronger than I. I need someone that can bring about a change that I cannot. I fear I cannot do it alone. I fear these things will stay the same. I fear my character won't live up to what is needed in my generation. I fear all of these things. They can be different for every single one of us." But worship was really honing in on helping us believe that fear can be exchanged this morning, that the Lord is able and willing to just take it away for those that come to him with all of their heart—take it away and replace it with things that Jesus purchased on the cross. And our title this morning is this: When you disappoint, when you disappoint, you get more. When you disappoint, you get more.

Now, I believe this word is for people that have a really hard time seeing self-value, people that have a hard time understanding how much they mean to God the Father. You've heard maybe many times in your life that he loves you so much that he sent his only begotten Son, but you don't feel, you don't experience that value—that that's how much you mean to the Father.

That's how much he cares. That's how much he rejoices when you walk into the room where there's someone without hope or someone without help. He sees his own son or daughter that he adopted, purchased with the blood of Christ. He sees you come into the room; all of a sudden, the Father gets excited because he knows how much value lays inside of you. He knows how much he has made you perfect for this generation, perfect for the assignments, all the good works that he prepared ahead of you. He made you perfect in the power of Christ, in the blood of Christ, and he rejoices over you. The Bible says, with singing.

I believe this word is for those that you've heard it; you try to believe it to the best of your ability, but it happens mostly up here. You don't really experience it. You feel like you more easily disappoint than impress. You fear that you will disappoint—maybe people, maybe God.

And I believe the Lord wants to open the eyes of your heart to seeing something about the Father, seeing something about Jesus Christ himself, that I believe God wants to cause healing in your heart, healing in your mind, healing in your journey. And I pray that he may do it for the weakest of us. You may not even want to ask him because you feel you will bother God.

So often, when we disappoint in our actions or we feel we as a person maybe are a little bit of a disappointment, we stop asking 'cause we don't feel like we're worth the answer. And I want to pray one more time for every person that feels deep down they're not really worth God answering today, making the change today, doing the miracle today.

Lord, I pray for every person that feels they've missed it, every person that feels that they can expect to be rejected, every person that feels they have caused reason for rejection, or every person that feels they are the reason for rejection. Lord, even in the smallest bits, Lord, it is such a toxic belief that will begin to birth all kinds of things in our walk with you. Lord God, I pray, Lord Jesus, that you touch those places in our heart, that you cause our eyes to be opened to the truth, and that those areas of our life may be changed, that we may be full of joy—vibrant, Lord Jesus—full of joy walking with you, speaking about you, Lord God, and about your actions, your abilities, Lord. Help us, Lord God. Help those that are disappointed, Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.

We're going to begin to go into the word. For those of you that are getting ready for kids church, this is the last Sunday that we still have Sunday school. I'm going to have to get used to this. But from here on out, this is the place where I would invite our children to, um, head out with the kids pastors through the back and, uh, go to kids church. So, this is me practicing. Hopefully, I’ll get it right. The title of today's message: When you disappoint, you get more. When you disappoint, you get more. I want to read to you Psalm 52:8. Psalm 52 verse 8 is where we're going to start today. "But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever."

Here we see the psalmist give us this tiny little parable in just about a sentence and a half. And we hear this parable many times throughout the Word of God, that people say, “I am like a tree,” or “the righteous is like a tree,” or this example of people being like trees we find so many times throughout the Word. Now, we know that he's not delusional and saying, “I am an Oregonian and I am a tree,” or “I am in love with a tree,” or “I would like to actually be a tree when I grow up.” That's not what he is saying. He's making a tiny little parable. And if you remember, if you've been coming to Safe House for a while, the word parable and the word for Holy Spirit is almost the exact same word. The word for parable in the original text means “to throw alongside,” and the word for Holy Spirit in the original text means “to walk alongside.” The Holy Spirit comes to walk alongside of us—that's his very name in all things. And parables are in the scriptures; Jesus himself uses them as well. Parables are in the scriptures, and they are thrown alongside of a heavenly truth. And when it is thrown alongside this heavenly truth, that parable helps us understand a heavenly truth that may otherwise be a little harder for us to digest and understand. That is what parables are for.

The Holy Spirit comes to walk alongside of us to help us do things we could never do or get through things we could never get through without heaven's support. And so we see the psalmist say right here, “I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.” People being likened to trees throughout the scriptures. Now, I don't know if you've ever taken the time to think about that, but there's a lot of various kinds of trees, but not only that— not one tree is really exactly the same, which is obviously true for people as well. But trees come in all kinds of conditions as well. When you go about your life here in Oregon, it's hard to miss trees, and sometimes you see an old, old tree, and there's just something majestic about it. It makes me feel small. They have been through so much. They've grown. They've a deep root system, and they've grown tall. And sometimes I wonder, you know, if these trees could actually tell stories—how old they are, what they've seen, the different generations, the differences in our economy, the things that people never worried about 50 years ago and now is a common worry, and vice versa. When I see an old tree, there's something about it.

When I see a young tree that has the very potential to end up like that old tree, I sense I got to be really careful. I can't climb in this thing. I don't even want to wiggle it. Like there's even maybe a stick next to it with a bond on it so that if there's a storm, it's not blown over. That tree is in a very different condition. A very different thing is going on. But I've seen trees that are sad trees. I've seen trees that at first glance, instantly, you can tell that's a strong tree. I've seen broken trees—trees that have been knocked over by the winds of life. And the Word keeps on making this reference: people are like trees. People are like trees. “I'm like an olive tree," "a tree planted by the waters”—all these times that the scriptures point towards people and make this small parable: hey, people are like trees, to throw alongside of a heavenly truth to help us understand something. There's droopy trees. When they're not quite withered, there's a good chance at saving them, but something has to change or else that condition is not going to end very good. And the Word tells us people are exactly like that. When you see people, you can often tell some of them are incredibly strong, others seem to go through a lot of sadness, some people come broken. And some people—they’re not too far gone, but they are, if you will, like a droopy tree, like the life is not strong in them, and something has to change or else this journey is not going to end very good.

You can look at a tree, and within a very little amount of time you can generally tell what you're dealing with. The Word says people are the same. When you take the time to look into someone's life, when you take the time to properly assess how someone is doing, within a few minutes of you spending genuine time with a person, if you are willing to see it—when you just drive by all the trees, you may never notice a thing. You can, if somebody asks you, “Is there a lot of trees in Oregon?” you may say, “Oh, so many.” But that doesn't mean you're seeing them. It's the same with people. You may have a lot of people in your life, but you may not be seeing them. They may all be so quick, and they may pass through your life so shallow and so fast that when I ask you, “Who's the sad tree, the strong tree, the broken tree, the droopy tree in your life?” you may have to go, “I may have to look a little better. What is actually really going on in the lives of the people around me?” But people are like that. You and I, you are like that. Like a tree.

This week I was sick in bed for a couple of days. And those of you that know my wife, she doesn't let me be in bed any longer than I need to be. But this week, I think I was in bed at least two days. I had a bad headache. I couldn't have a lot of light. I had a toothache on top of that, a sinus infection that was oncoming. And so, as I was in the bedroom just trying to spend the time away for all of this to get better, I'd keep the curtains of the windows quite closed. We have a newborn at home that's still in our room, so people are from time to time in and out of the room. Inna is in and out of the room, some of the other kids. Sometimes I'm taking care of the little one. But in every case, I was just trying to make sure to have enough water to just flush out any infection that may be oncoming, and to keep those curtains closed because the light kind of hurts my headache when I go through something like that. And I'm just going through my little ritual of trying to keep it as painless as possible and get through this. And I went downstairs for a few moments and came back up and sat back in the bed, and the curtains are open. And I get up, and I go to the curtains, and I close them slightly annoyed. And you know I'm sick. You know I have a headache. And I go sit back in the bed, and later in the day, I go do something again for a moment. I come back again—those curtains open.

So I close them again, and by the third time that Inna comes into the room while I'm sitting in the bed and goes and puts the curtains open, I say, “Inna, this is the third time you're opening the curtains. Can't you tell I would like them closed? It hurts my headache.” But if you know Inna, she didn't budge. And she said, “My plant is droopy. I just watered it, and I opened the window and the curtains because light and water will make it grow.” And that hit me so deep in the heart because the Word tells us that people are like trees. And so many people I love and so many people I meet, they are a little bit like that plant. They are a little bit like a young tree, so to speak. When there's so much potential in them, but you can just tell by the leaves, you can just tell by so many things that are evident in their life, that it's a little droopy. They're not in that much trouble. They're not dying. They're not withered. But something needs to change in order for them to properly bloom up again and for them to properly grow.

Light and water make it grow. So the window stayed open. And the Lord began to speak to my heart about people that feel like they are a disappointment. They're trying hard. They are present. They have grown. They're making a difference. But still, somehow, some way, they feel like a little bit of a disappointment. They may even fear that they're going to end up like a disappointment—maybe towards the Lord, maybe towards people in your life. And it is causing this little bit of droop in the branches of your life, in the fruit of your life, in the joy of your life.

And when that simple sentence from Ena hit me so deep in the heart—“Light and water make it grow. The window stays open”—the Lord began to bring to my mind those scriptures that talk about the water and the light as Jesus comes to people. Already throughout the Old Testament as well, he had it all written out: people are like trees. People are like trees. People are like trees. And then when Jesus came on the scene, he began to talk about the light, and he began to talk about the water.

John 8:12: Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” The light of life. A light that causes you to be full of life. A light that causes deadness to be pushed out of you, darkness to be pushed out of you. Jesus says, “That's what I am to those trees, those people. If they will follow me, if they will hear me and trust me, I will be light to them, and it will cause life to be strong in them and to be raised up in them.” Now, where does Jesus say this? Right before this verse, still a part of the story, right before this verse, we have the story of the woman caught in adultery.

Here we have a woman called to be part of the people of God. Disappointed God in for all she knew disappointed her spiritual leadership. They were the ones dragging her before Jesus. A very disappointing tree in very many ways. And all of a sudden when Jesus gets the word, he begins to speak to them about light. When he encounters a tree that has a disappointing amount of fruit or a disappointing droop in the branches that may identify even as being a disappointment, Jesus begins to say, I am the light, and anyone that walks with me, that follows me, will not have darkness in which nothing can grow, but you will have the light of life. Then just a couple of chapters earlier in John chapter 4 verse 10, it says this: Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is who says to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."

Verse 13: Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again. But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst, but the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life." Again, a woman meeting Jesus. She's with her sixth man now. Five times she's been married. Now she's given up on marriage. The man that she is with, she's not even married to right now. Part of the people of God. Already feeling like a disappointment because she was a Samaritan. Not a full-blood Jew. Still kind of with the people of God, but kind of on the sidelines as a Samaritan. And then on top of that, she’s not good at marriage. She gets chance after chance. She never seems to get it right. And now she has even given up on that. And now she is here face to face with Jesus trying to kind of cover up the disappointing journey that she has had in her relationships.

And Jesus encounters again, if you will, a disappointing tree. And he begins to talk about water. Just a couple of chapters apart—water and light. Water and light will make it grow.

Here’s the definition that I want to give you this morning of disappointment: You are not where you thought you would be by now. That is the disappointment definition that really captures how we feel when we are disappointed.

It’s not some heavy, great, solid, overwhelming feeling. It’s a still small awareness, a thought, a sense that says, I’m not quite where I thought I’d be by now. That I’ve been saved five years, or that I’ve been in ministry for two, or that I’ve been walking with the Lord for twenty-five. I’m not quite where I thought I’d be. That means you are disappointed. That means you are droopy as a tree, in need of more light, in need of more water. Research was done by a news outlet and it found that half the people—they interviewed 1,500 people—and more than half the people (53%) had a sense in their heart, in their thinking, that they were a disappointment or they were going to cause disappointment in those that are close to them. More than half the people interviewed had a sense that what they bring into the relationships that they have in their life—what they bring with them—is either disappointment or will cause disappointment. Not good enough. I’m not quite where I thought I’d be by now. People’s eyes—I’m probably not quite where they thought I’d be by now.

I’m not quite able to walk the way I thought I’d be able to walk by now. I’m not quite able to stay away from the sins I thought I’d be able to stay away from. I’m not quite the follower of Jesus that once I knew I wanted to be. I’m not quite where I thought I would be by now. This is the droopy tree. Not dead, not withered, but something has to change in order for light and life and growth to come back into that situation. I’m not where I thought I’d be right now. Jesus takes these stories of one of the greatest mess-ups that you can find in the Scriptures, and he begins to show us—after he has spread this little parable of people are like trees, people are like trees, people are like trees throughout the entire Scriptures—and then when Jesus comes on the scene, he starts to talk about that water and light. And here we are today. So many of us that say in our heart, even if we are remotely in the vicinity of that research, even close to it—some of us are here saying, I never thought this area of my life would end up like this. I never thought I’d still be struggling with this.

I never thought that it would take me this long. I never thought I would begin to see those character traits of my own father through me now, even though I hated them. I never thought I would become so much like my mom in the things that hurt me—now I’m really fighting to hold it back, but I’m about to do the same thing to my kids. I never thought I’d lose contact with my own children. And I never thought that God would not make a way for my ministry. I never thought that it’d be this hard for me to consistently every day read the Bible. But here we are.

I never thought that I would never properly develop a decent prayer life. I never thought.

Droopy trees. I want you to see what this Jesus—who says, I am the light. I have the living water.—I want you to see how he deals with disappointing people. Luke chapter 13. I want to read to you verse 6 to 9. It’s a parable again of the barren fig tree. Now we know what trees refer to.

He spoke this parable. A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. So here we have Jesus telling a parable and he's saying there's a tree, somebody has planted it in his own vineyard, and he came looking to see if that tree is producing fruit. Now we know that the devil didn't plant his own vineyard and Jesus is running around in that vineyard. We know this is speaking of a person that has a form of a relationship with God. They have been planted in some measure. They are in the right vineyard. They are in the right vicinity. The right God is in their life and surrounding them. But we read this remarkable thing: this tree bears disappointment. It doesn't have the kind of fruit that the Lord intended for this fruit and for this vineyard to bear because the tree is planted in a vineyard. Now, if a tree is not in a vineyard, it doesn't matter that much what it produces or what it doesn't. But when a tree is placed in a vineyard, it is the vineyard that has a purpose and that serves a purpose. That vineyard in the story represents the people of God, but even more so the church of the living God that has a purpose where all these trees are put together.

It is a vineyard that is designed for a work and a purpose. And these trees are what the work is going to be accomplished through. These trees are going to bear the fruit that's going to make the whole vineyard fruitful. And it's going to cause benefit to the owner of the vineyard. It's going to cause him to receive out of these trees what he planted them for.

The first lesson I learned right there is a tree in the vineyard of the Lord. I need to be planted. There's another person, different person on our team that went through such a deep story in this journey in their life. This man was an uprooted tree. Loved the Lord, sought the Lord, knew the Lord, but always had a hard time to really let the roots of life grow deep so that it can draw from the water. And water and light make things grow. And certain things were hard in his life to grow out of, to grow into, and to grow through. And some droopiness can come in in those areas. And when we become properly rooted, when we know where God wants to grow us and we know where God wants us to bear fruit in his vineyard, we have to allow him to plant us—to become rooted and planted in the vineyard of the church of the living God—so that we can be prepared to start to eventually bear the fruit that he will come looking for, that he will expect to see in those that are planted for a purpose in the vineyard of the living God.

Verse 7: Then he said to the keeper of the vineyard, "Look, for three years I've come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down. Why does it use up the ground?" There's the purpose. This vineyard is designed to have purpose. Any tree bearing fruit is welcome and has purpose in this vineyard. Even years I will gladly wait for that fruit to come. But if fruit is never going to come, why don't we give the room to someone else? This is a disappointing tree to me.

Now watch what Jesus says. But he answered and said to him, "Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down." We have this disappointing tree, disappointing actions, lack of fruit, feeling rightfully like they've not lived up to the expectation. Droopy trees. Not where I thought I'd be by now. I'm not the spiritual leader that I thought I'd be by now. I'm not the man of the house in bringing the presence of the Lord on the house the way I thought I'd be able to be that man by now.

If Jesus came to live in my heart, if he gave his Spirit to walk alongside of me, if his word has power, then by now I had thought it would have been different. I'm not the woman that I wanted to be by now. I'm not kind. I'm not gentle. I'm not full of love towards those around me. I'm snappy. I can't help it. I hurt people too easily. I wound them too easily. I'm not spiritually bearing that much good fruit. I'm not growing the way that I thought I'd be growing. My marriage is not producing believers. My marriage is not causing people to run to God. My marriage is not causing people to say, "How in the world is there such a presence of God upon your home? How in the world are you guys able to serve one another like this? How in the world do you guys never get tired of one another's presence? How have you become one to this degree? Who has done this? How is this possible?"

I'm not quite where I wanted to be by now. I was talking to a person on our team this week, and she really did feel like a disappointment. I ended up talking with her about the difference in the world versus the kingdom. The difference between being a tree out there and being a tree in the vineyard. Because in the world, when we disappoint, we lose things. When we disappoint, we lose opportunities. When we disappoint, we lose favor. When we disappoint, we lose position. When we disappoint, we lose honor. When we disappoint, we lose things. And that worldly thinking can get so deep in our heart that when we sense we are a disappointing husband, a disappointing father, a disappointing spiritual leader of the home, a disappointing mom, a disappointing wife, a disappointing child of the living God, a disappointment because I still have sin a disappointment because I'm not in my word the way that I would like to be or I'm not in prayer the way I'd like to be.

We have this belief system that when you disappoint, or when you disappoint others, you lose things. And we begin to believe that because of who I am and because of what I do, I'm losing tiny bits of the favor of the Lord. I'm losing His presence tiny bits at a time. I'm losing His loving kindness tiny bits at a time. I'm losing His patience tiny bits at a time. As I was talking to the team member, I said, “In the kingdom, when you disappoint, you get more.” That's how Jesus does it. When you become a disappointment, we're not covering it up. We're not saying, “Well, you get a participation trophy.” When you are a disappointment—when you missed it, when these women were caught in adultery or caught in the fact that she couldn't keep a normal or good relationship—when people are disappointments, Jesus shows up. He starts to talk about water. He starts to talk about light. He says, “When I run into a disappointing tree, I don't cut it down. I don't remove you because I want to make room for another tree. When I run into a disappointing tree, I want to spend more time with you. I want to be even closer to you. I want to give you more of my presence. I want to dig around your life and make sure that you are in the correct ground and that you're re-rooted in the right place. When you are a disappointment, you get more.”

Jesus says, “This tree that I see doesn't bear fruit or the right fruit at the right time. I want to be closer. I want to work on affecting their root system. I want to do the work for them.” See, the Lord knows you cannot change the ground around your roots. The Lord knows you cannot uproot yourself and plant yourself in the right place. The Lord knows. But so many times when we have disappointing actions or we feel like we are a disappointment, we don't believe anymore that Jesus wants to come so close to us, that He wants to do it for us, that He is asking to spend quality time with us and not move on from us. We so easily begin to doubt what He is like when He walks through His vineyard and sees us as a tree. We so easily think that He is disappointed and that He moves on to the good trees. You see, if you know anything about vineyards, the good trees—you don't have to do much to them. It's the disappointing trees that are worth the investment. And that's what Jesus shows us: You are worth the investment.

When you disappoint, you get more. When you disappoint, you don't have to fix your life. When you disappoint, you don't have to change your character. When you disappoint, you don't lose your growth opportunities in the kingdom of God. When you disappoint, you get more. That's how He wins us over. That's how He shows us the value that He placed inside of us. It's not because of what we did or did not do. It is because of what He placed inside the heart of every single sinner who has come to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God. There is such incredible value placed inside of you. Because when you begin to be able to bear fruit and to share effectively what God has done inside of you, it has the potential to change people's eternity all around you. Jesus treats you according to the value that He Himself placed inside of you.

Psalm 1:3 — “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.” Jesus prophetically foretells us right here in the book of Psalms what the man and the woman will be like who let Jesus come close—who don’t keep Jesus at a distance because they say, “I’m such a disappointment. I don’t want to talk about this. Jesus, I don’t want You touching this. I need to man up, change my life, change some things around, behave, and change my attitude—and then I can properly be a decent Christian tree, whatever that means.” Jesus says, “No, no, no. I want to dig in the dirt around you. I want to bring the fertilizer. I want to do the work. I want to cause the fruit in your life because I can see the very potential that is inside of you.” And so for every person online, every person here in the house that says, “Lord, I never thought I'd be struggling still with this sin”—you’re disappointed. That’s the definition of a disappointed person. “I never thought I'd still be here. I never thought I wouldn't amount to this, that, and the other. I never thought I would stay stuck in this, that, and the other thing.”

Lord, I never thought that it would take me this long to walk a consistent Christian walk. Lord, I never thought I'd be struggling with anger. I never thought I'd feel like hiding from the church people— all broken sinners saved by grace. I never thought I'd be hiding from them the depths of who I am, because of my fear. Because I'm afraid to be rejected. I'm afraid that I'll be a disappointment, Lord. I never thought I'd be struggling with depression as a believer. I never thought I'd battle these mind attacks. I never thought that fear would be so present. Church, in the kingdom of God, when you disappoint, you get more. When you disappoint, you don't get rejection. When you disappoint, Jesus wants more time with you. He wants to come closer to you. He wants to produce fruit in you. When you give it water and light, it grows. And I could see so clearly that Jesus’ attitude in my wife that day when she stood in front of that window: “No, I know what this plant needs. So the window’s staying open. It’s gotten its water, but now it needs light.” And Jesus says, “Let me come close. I’ll give you living water and you’ll never thirst again.” And then He says, “It will spring up. You’ll have more than you need. It will start to bear fruit in the lives of others.” He says, “I am the light. Let that light come and shine in your life. It’ll be the light of life. It’ll push any deadness out of your heart, out of your thinking. I know you’re a tree. You can’t do it yourself.”

Would you let me near? Would you stand with me this morning? I'll read verse three again: He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither, and whatever he does shall prosper. Now, if you're disappointed in yourself or any aspect of your journey, then this altar call is for you. I want to invite you to come to the front at this time. If you're disappointed in yourself or any aspect of your journey—if you say, “I never thought that this would stay the same. I never thought I wouldn't achieve this, that, or the other.” ’Cause here's what Jesus wants to do in your heart: He wants to show your heart that when you have disappointment that you bring with you, that you carry with you—some of it in your actions, some of it in the way you look at yourself, doesn’t matter what corner it is in—when you have disappointment, Jesus gives you more. You don't have to shy away from Him. You don't have to be afraid of how He responds.

This is how He responds: “Father, this tree doesn't bear fruit. Would You please let Me have some time with him? Would You let Me do all of the work in his life? Would You let Me do the digging around in the dirt? Would You let Me bring heavenly giftings? Would You let Me bring special fertilizer that will even cause this tree to start to bring fruit?” Would you allow Jesus to serve you? Peter had such a hard time letting Jesus go on His knees for him, to wash his feet. In his pride, saying, “I never thought Jesus would have to go on His knees for me. I've walked with Him. I know who He is.” And Peter tried to stop Jesus from going on His knees publicly—Peter still being the reason that Jesus had to go on His knees. Peter didn't want it. He didn't want to be the disappointment. He didn't want to be the reason that Jesus had to go on His knees. And so often we have this little attitude in our heart that says, “Lord, I could be better and I should be better.” And He says: “Would you just let Me kneel and begin to dig around you and work with the root system you have today? Would you allow Me to pour on top of it what I can give? I will give you light. I will give you water. I will make you grow.” And everything will be changed in the kingdom, church.

In the kingdom, when you disappoint, He gives you more of His presence. He gives you more of His effort. And He will turn it all around. Your droopiness becomes His story that points toward His capability, His willingness, His love. When we are a disappointment, we’re never going to have a story of how we turned it all around. Not if you're planted in His vineyard. He's not going to let that happen. But if you let Him come close to your situation, He will always turn it around.

In the world, when you disappoint, you lose things. In the kingdom, when you disappoint, you get more. My sister would say, “That's Bible math right there. It makes no sense. That’s Bible math. That’s how God does it. When you disappoint, you get more.”

-Pastor Stan Mons