God turns our disappointment into an appointment with Him

By Bill Ward CONTRIBUTOR

I have always thought one of the most fascinating of the disciples was Thomas. In scripture, Thomas is brave, honest, uncertain and, of course, doubtful. In essence, he is real!

Of all the dramatic moments in Thomas’ life, perhaps the most famous was God’s appointment with him after his resurrection. It is here where we can see how his disappointment turned into an appointment with God.

It has been said that disappointments are God’s appointments. What if we looked at disappointments as an opportunity to have an appointment with God?

It is so important that we are ready for appointments with God because scripture tells us time and time again that God can use our disappointments. One of the great testimonies of scripture is that when Jesus was suffering, he was confident that his hurting could be used by God. Jesus knew his suffering was not meaningless. We may not know the reason or the purpose for our disappointments in life, but we know God can use it for His glory. I’m not suggesting that God is the originator of suffering – yet God can use it for good. We know that God does a lot of his greatest works in times of disappointment. Tragedy and crisis are but magnifiers –circumstances that force our hand and shine a bright light on situations we might have otherwise ignored or dismissed. During whatever uncertainty you may be going through, look for those appointments. Don’t waste whatever crisis is upon you. Don’t waste a time of hardship. Don’t just try to “make it through” a difficult season of life. Redeem it!

Make an appointment with God during this time and see how God can use it and how He can use you.

Rev. Dr. William Ward is the senior pastor at Providence Presbyterian Church on Hilton Head Island.