Dealing with Disappointment?

Boy has disappointment smacked me in the face lately.  Disappointment in my fellow man, disappointment with the court systems, disappointment with life, and even disappointment with God.  Have you ever been there?
I was just reading about Moses as he led the Israelites out of Egypt and then spent the next disappointing 40 years in the dessert.  As if all of that was not enough, he receives some more news...lets pick up the story in Deuteronomy 34:16-18,
"The Lord said to Moses, "You are about to die an join your ancestors.  After you are gone, these people will begin to worship foreign gods, the gods of the lands where they are going.  They will abandon me and break my covenant that I have made with them.  Then my anger will blaze forth against them.  I will abandon them, hiding my face from them, and they will be devoured.  Terrible trouble will come down on them, and they will be devoured..."  Wow, talk about watching your life work go up in smoke. Moses, had given these people the last of his years.  He had faithfully served them, instructed them, protected them, guided them, and now, on his death bed, he hears that they are going to walk away from all he has worked for.  I guess this is a good reminder of a few things:

1- You can only change you, you have influence over others but ultimately they have to make their own choices.  This means you can do everything right and your "children will" still have the freedom to make the wrong choices (Not that Moses did EVERYthing right, or that you or I do for that matter :)

2- We work for God and not man.  I imagine Jeremiah could relate to Moses, as he preached repentance day after day only to watch his fellow country men walk in disobedience.  Sometimes, we do not see the results of our work this side of Heaven.  That should not keep us from moving ahead in obedience to God's call.  Ephesians 6:7 reminds us, "Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men."


So what ever disappointment you are facing today, I hope you will be encouraged to keep your eyes on Jesus, who never disappoints us, never leaves us, never forsakes us, and work as if you are serving Him and not the people around you.