Devotionals

Desperately Disillusioned
by Donna Rogers
copyright 2008

Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28

Introduction
We are bombarded daily with dreams – dream houses, dream vacations, dream jobs, dream cars, dream spouses, dream children, dream whatever!
Dreams are dandy, but they are just that – dreams. Dreams happen when we are asleep, not even fully conscious. Dreams are blurry and surreal, often absurd and sometimes frightening. Dreams aren’t real, and they fade when we awaken to reality. Dreams are ideas in our minds. But what happens when the dancing sugarplums in our heads turn into prunes? When the dreams turn into nightmares? The answer is – we become disillusioned. In these devotionals, we'll look at dreams, disillusionment, and God’s plan to turn our dreams into His reality.

Desperately Disillusioned about Relationships
Read Ecclesiastes 9; Matthew 22:34-40
Miss Right marries Mr. Right. They dream of white picket fences, station wagons (maybe, Hummers) and rosy-cheeked children. That’s the dream. Then they wake up to reality. Mrs. Right snores. Mr. Right works too much. Mr. Right flirts with Mrs. Right’s best friend – and she flirts right back! The kids are sassy. The station wagon breaks down. The picket fence needs painting.

Goodbye dream, hello reality!

Life isn’t a dream. Good and bad stuff happens to good and bad people. Solomon calls it Time and Chance (Eccl. 9:11). The wise king knew all about time and chance. He also had grand dreams. He was the son of a grand dreamer. But life (especially, in the form of imperfect relationships) awakened them to reality. Perhaps you, too, have been betrayed, disappointed, frustrated, and wounded. Take heart! There is a friend who will stick closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24). His name is Jesus! He will never leave or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). And your relationship with Him will enable you to look beyond the disillusionments of your earthly relationships so that you can love your neighbor/spouse/child/whoever as yourself!

Name two relationships with which you are disillusioned. Were your expectations realistic in the first place? Are you frustrated that you’re not in control of the people in your life? Would you really want a world where everyone was created in your own image? Why or why not?

Desperately Disillusioned about Stuff
Read Ecclesiastes 2; Matthew 6:19-24
No one was more disillusioned concerning stuff than Solomon. He had women, wealth, wine, wisdom and world acclaim. His livestock, gold and mansions were the equivalent of our cars, bank accounts and homes. But stuff didn’t make Solomon happy, and stuff won’t make you happy. You see, material goods aren’t good or bad. They just are. It’s our attitude about them that matters. If you are looking for stuff to make you happy, you can forget it. You’ll always need just one more. You’ll always be competing with another person to one-up them. You’ll become frustrated, unhappy – disillusioned! Jesus clearly told us that we cannot serve both stuff (mammon) and God. Each will become our master. Each will control our attitudes and behavior. Which master do you choose – stuff or God?

Why does money and the stuff it can buy exert such a powerful hold on us? Do you have a world-view of possessions or a Biblical view? Explain the difference.

Name two steps you can take to begin a more Biblical perspective of stuff in your life.

Desperately Disillusioned about Purpose
Read John 6:24-29; 1 Corinthians 12
The Purpose-Drive Life hit a nerve with people because life without purpose is meaningless. Let me suggest another angle – purpose without life is meaningless. From an earthly point of view, there are many people with noble purposes – saving whales, going "green," and championing the underdog. But all our purposes are meaningless if there is no eternal life. Jesus said that our work – our purpose – is to believe in the One God sent (John 6:29). After that, we will follow God’s purpose for us – to tell others about Jesus (Mark 16:15), to use the gifts we have been given (1 Corinthians 12) and to do good works in the name of Jesus so that others will see those good works and glorify God (Matthew 5:16)!

Ellen Sturgis Hooper wrote, "I slept and dreamed that life was beauty. I woke and found that life was duty." What is your duty? What is your purpose? What is God’s purpose for you? Does your life revolve around your purpose or God’s?

Desperately Disillusioned about Life
Read Matthew 16:24-27; John 11:25-26; Acts 17:16-34
Life without God leaves you disillusioned when it doesn’t work out as you dreamed and when it does work out as you dreamed. For people who just can’t get life "going" and for people who seem to have life by the tail, there is a common restlessness, a discontent, a disillusionment that they just can’t shake. Oh, they may seem happy-go-lucky but late at night, in their heart of hearts, there’s a desperate seeking for "something else." Beloved, that something else is a someone else. In every society that worshipped multiple gods, there was An Unknown God. When Paul addressed the people of Athens, he told introduced them to the God who is the Creator of the Universe and to His Son, Jesus. Rich or poor, healthy or ailing, famous or anonymous – you will always be desperately disillusioned about life until you find true purpose, true love, true life in the person of Jesus Christ!

If you are facing disillusionment, check your spiritual compass to be sure you are aligned with God’s purpose for your life.

Desperately Disillusioned about God
Read Isaiah 55:8; Jeremiah 29:11, 31:3, 33:3
It’s okay to admit being occasionally disillusioned with God. At some time in every person’s life, he becomes disillusioned – even desperately disillusioned – with God. It may be brought on by a national crisis like 9/11/2001 – but more likely it will come in the face of a frightening illness, a death, a wayward child, a cruel parent, an abusive boss, a betraying friend, a financial crisis or so many other situations. You become angry with God for not preventing bad stuff from happening. You are disappointed in Him when your dreams don’t materialize. You are disillusioned when you are convinced He just isn’t showing that He cares about you.

You’re not alone in this. David asked why God had forsaken him (Psalm 22:1-2). Job questioned why God allowed bad stuff to happen to him. But God isn’t a sugar daddy, a genie, or a mystical gift-granter. He is a parent who guides His children, who occasionally disciplines them, and who allows them free will to make decisions. To prevent disillusionment with God, remember these truths: He is sovereign. He is wiser than we are. And He is always loving. Accepting that He is all knowing, all powerful and always present, enables us to rest in the peace that, although His ways are not our ways, His ways are always best!

When have you been disillusioned with God? Did being angry with God help the situation or make it worse? How did you realize God isn’t to blame for everything that goes wrong in your world?

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Donna Rogers is team leader and contributing editor of Time Alone Daily Devotionals, a publication of Pleasant Valley Baptist Church.
Copyright 2008 by Donna Rogers  
This was previously published in Time Alone Devotionals, Pleasant Valley Baptist Church, Liberty, Missouri. 

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