The Dilemma of Disappointment

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go up this mountain in the Abarim range and see the land I have given the Israelites. After you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people…”

Numbers 27:12-13

Just after God helped Moses resolve a civil matter within Israel, the Lord gave His prophet a devastating report. He informed Moses that he could view a portion of the Promised Land from a mountaintop, and nothing more. Israel’s messenger and leader would not be permitted to step foot inside the long-awaited borders of Canaan. Moses’ unholy conduct, exhibited on a prior occasion, had cost him the opportunity to fully complete the tasking he was given: to guide the people into the Promised Land. To say this was a crushing revelation to Moses is a massive understatement. This man, though prone to anger and self-deprecation, was a monumental pillar of support and wisdom for his kinsmen. If there was ever a person who would have “merited” the privilege of feeling and seeing the Promised Land up-close and personal (during this point in history) it was Moses. But God forbid it and, remarkably, Moses accepted it with dignity and graciousness.

When told his time on earth was nearly complete and that he would soon relinquish the reigns of governance how did Moses respond? Did he complain and whine? No. Did he lose heart or break down, sobbing with bitter tears? No. Did he tell God it was unfair and wrong? No. Moses received God’s command and absorbed it in a spirit of praise. In fact, Moses’ first inclination was to ask God that He appoint a replacement so that the Hebrew people would not be like sheep without a shepherd (Numbers 27:17). This is a truly incredible reply to an otherwise upsetting message.

The dilemma of disappointment can be a most menacing foe. Humanity is conditioned to react to setback in carnal frustration. But Moses did not react in frustration or fury; he responded to disappointment in faith. Moses’ trust in God’s sovereignty overcame his emotion in the moment and his natural inclination to plead the injustice of God’s decision. Clearly, Moses was a man who believed more in the goodwill and noble intentions of the Lord above his own. The great prophet of God did not let discouraging news or dispiriting outcomes dampen his beliefs or his convictions. The Lord was more eternally glorious than the distress of the temporary. In summary, faith is the spiritual substance that can set followers of God apart from the world. It was true of Moses. It should be true of us.