Faith vs. Fantasy | Mornings with Mico

Good people, what's going on? My name is Meeko and welcome to my one-on-one time with God today. Today we outside, feel all right out here, figured I'd come outside and do a little reading, so here we are. We are still, as I stated, this week I'm just wanting to camp out in the passages after Jesus' resurrection last week. We kind of did for Holy Week. We did an on-ramp to Easter Sunday and this week wanting to kind of off-ramp and just really linger in this space and just continue to delve into these passages and just glean as much as we can from the passages after Jesus' resurrection. So with no further ado, we are today, we're in Luke chapter 24 and let me just kind of catch us up to where we are in the story. At this point, Jesus has been resurrected. There are some disciples who are walking down the road and Jesus appears to them and when he appears to them, they don't recognize him. And so he's questioning them like, hey, why do you guys look sad? What do you look so sad for? And they're just, you know, that's the dialogue that they're having right now. And we're starting in like in the middle of verse 19, like I said, chapter 24. And they respond to Jesus about Jesus, not knowing that they're talking to Jesus and they say, he was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death and they crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since this all took place. And when I saw that line, but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. It just hit me. And it was in a way where it's like it, like that line, I think so many of us can relate to that line.

Like, we had hope. They had gotten their hope. As they say, you know, earlier in that verse, they knew Jesus. He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all of the people. So it's like, they weren't questioning, you know, his power. They weren't questioning him as a Messiah. Like they trusted, they believed, like they had hope. They had their faith. Like, no, this is the son of God. Like nothing is impossible with him. So when he died on the cross, and it's like, as they're seeing all of this, it's like their hopes just diminished. And it's like, wow, this is, we hoped that he would redeem Israel, which he did, but not in the way that they anticipated. And I think, I know for me, and just in many conversations that I have with people, like that is, that gets a lot of us hung up. We have these expectations. We have these hopes of God. And when those expectations go unmet, and it really impacts our relationship to the degree where in some cases, this disappointment, this discouragement, it will literally just completely derail some of us sometimes in our faith, right? Like as we're walking down this road of life, and we hoped for these things, right? It was the marriage to stay together, or the court case to go differently, or the custody battle to go differently, or the death of a loved one or something. We had hoped. We placed our hope in these things. And then, in God, that these things will come about the way that we anticipated, and it doesn't. And it's like, it really starts to take a toll on our faith. I know in my own life, there was a season where I was hoping and believing in God for

some things just with some business ventures and stuff, and trusting, you know, as I'm talking to God, like this isn't just a one-way conversation, like I'm hearing from God. And when it all went a completely different way, I was kind of left in a space of just like confusion and discouragement. And it really, it forced me to kind of go back to the drawing board and like seek God, like, God, give me understanding in this, like, I thought that this is how this was supposed to go. I had hoped that this is what we were doing with this, and now that we're on this side, it's like, it's not adding up. And I actually sat with God enough to actually to get a response. I believe what God shared with me was, D'Amico, you've turned faith into fantasy, and I'm not in that, right? Like, I've turned my faith and my hope for what, you know, I was designed to do. in my walk with God, you know, not even separate from God. Like, it's not like I was pursuing something outside of him. Like, no, I was walking with him and this is how I thought this was gonna go and it didn't. And he kinda, you know, he kinda checked me a bit and was like, yeah, you let your faith turn into fantasy. And I know that, I mean, that's my story. That's one of many of my stories, you know, where I've experienced that, but it's not like exclusive to me or even to you, right? That disappointment can cause us to misread things and we can allow disappointment and discouragement to impact our faith or you'll see a brother, you know, someone whose faith is impacted because of the things that they're seeing, maybe even going on in the world. And they're like, well, I would have thought

that God would have handled it this way, but it's going this way and it can even grow them into a space of, you know, unbelief, right? And for me, it's really kinda taught me a lesson that, you know, we pray, Lord, thy will be done. I think through experience and walking with God, in addition to that prayer, thy will be done, I've also begun to pray, Lord, give me a heart that desires your will, right? There's a verse that I stumbled across later on in like Philippians 2.13, which you'll probably hear me reference often because it's an anchor verse of mine. And it says that God is doing a good work in us to give us the desire and the ability to do what pleases him. And so much of our walk, right, with God is going to be coming into agreement with his will and pursuing the desires that are pleasing to him and even praying, Lord, give me those desires, right? Give me the desires and the ability to do what pleases you. And I love what this verse teaches us in Philippians 2.13 is that it's not even our responsibility to already desire those things, like he gives us that desire. And that's going to be an intricate peace to this walk with God, where we're going to need him to grow us in a desire to do what pleases him. Otherwise, we will always find ourself in this place of friction and disagreement

with his plan and his way. And we won't even recognize what he's doing. Very similar to the disciples here as they're walking down the street with Jesus, right? This is Jesus' plan and it's coming to fruition and they can't recognize it because their view of everything is distorted by their own disappointment and their own discouragement of what they desired. And just, I don't know, like this is, that's a lot to pull possibly from this, man. But I don't think it is. I don't think it is, man. I think that there's a gem here, that this is a gem. This is something for us on this side of Jesus' resurrection, for us to wrestle with that tension but then lose that battle. If we're not fighting to get on board with God's plan in this, to lose that battle. Lord, pin my shoulders to the mat to get me to a place of agreement with what you call good in life. Or help me to get on board with your plan. Open my eyes to see your plan. Grow me in humility enough to accept your plan and get on board with that. Recognize it and get on board with that because Jesus may be walking alongside you in some seasons where you're experiencing disappointment and discouragement because your expectations may be unmet.

But he's like, no, this is exactly my plan. This is exactly how I wanted this to go. And now it's not so much about Jesus getting on board with what you want but rather your eyes being open to see, okay, God, help me to see you in this. Help me to recognize your hand in this. Lord, show me your victory in this. And I don't know, man, I'm kind of preaching a little bit now, but that's something that I've really had to, you know, like solidify in my heart and my mind to walk this walk through seasons of what may appear to be, you know, disappointment and discouragement and seasons of what feels like stagnation, seasons of what feels like failure. Like I have to get to a place where I'm like, okay, God, I know the way I see it. Open my eyes to see what it is you're seeing in this. And that's just key. That's just key to this walk. So wanted to leave y'all with that. And also just encourage you today, right? I've got some reflection, some questions for you to do, for you to reflect on, on your time with God today. And just simply, where have your expectations of God gone unmet? Journal those things down. Write that down.

Like what are some expectations that you've placed on God and they've gone unmet? Don't deny them, don't grow nonchalant in them and you know it is what it is like no Acknowledge it write it down and and and bring that to God and and and and Second one how has that shaped how you see him now? Be honest right up so often right like like we can go through these seasons and and Seasons of turmoil and seasons of disappointment and although we make it out alive on the other side of it sometimes our faith did it though sometimes our joy did it sometimes our perspective of God didn't write and Whole time like we're like, okay fine. It is what it is. And that's what that's what the enemy was after He wasn't even after you know Whatever the case may be, you know the your life or whatever the case is he was more so after like your perspective to taint your view of God to diminish your faith and And We have to acknowledge that like Lord, where is my faith now? They is it because of some unmet expectations and and seasons of disappointment that it's now shaped the way that I view you acknowledge that Acknowledge that bring that before him pray for forgiveness in that and we got to repent from that the third thing I'm gonna ask are you interpreting your life through disappointment or truth? your perspective your view Which lands are you looking through the lens of truth? God's perspective the way he sees things or you letting disappointment be the lens that you're viewing your entire life through Some questions to settle. All right Leave you out with that. I'm gonna pray us out Jesus correct my perspective Where it may be distorted and not in alignment With your truth Amen you have a blessing