Do you feel like God has let you down?

I heard a very interesting question yesterday:

Do you feel like God has let you down in certain areas of your life? Be honest with yourself. Did something immediately pain your heart when you read that question? Have you felt like you deserved more success, less problems, more money, a bigger house, a better job, a better relationship with your spouse, a better sex life? Have you put expectations on your relationship with Jesus?

The follow up question dug even deeper. Do you allow yourself to sin in these areas? To make up on what you feel God hasn't delivered on? Do you take gaining what you were expecting into your own hands? If you were expecting business success, do you feel justified in cheating? Cheating people to get more money, cheating on your taxes? Do you tell white lies so others might think better of you? If you are struggling in your relationship with your wife, if your sex life isn't what you expected; do you feel you can justify divorce, adultery or pornography?

Do you think God defines success the same way we do? In Jeremiah 29:11 when God says "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future", do you think He defines the word "prosper" as you do?

Jeremiah 9:23-24 - This is what the Lord says: "Let not the wise man boast of this wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight"

Genesis 39:2 - The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.

Joseph was a slave and yet he prospered. That doesn't sound very prosperous does it? It goes on to say in verse 3 "...and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did." He was a slave!

Are you a slave to your expectations of God and others? If you feel like God has let you down then it's time to drop the expectations you have placed on Him. You cannot love God, you cannot glorify God, you cannot worship God unconditionally when your expectations of Him get in the way.

Do you feel like God has let you down? Maybe the question should be: how have I let God down?