How to Resist Sinful Reactions

Kathy Collard Miller knows first hand how difficult it can be to respond in disappointing circumstances as Jesus would, but she has grown in spiritual maturity. Now, she helps others understand how to manage their own disappointments and resist sinful reactions.

TRUTH TALK Insight: John 2:24-25

Jesus Only Looked to His Father for Validation.

Jesus’ much-loved disciple John said,

But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man (John 2:24-25 esv).

John gives us our first truth about how Jesus could resist sinful reactions to disappointment, and it helps us understand how we can do the same.

It may seem like a silly question, but how did Jesus know what was in man?

Obvious, right? He created mankind, starting with Adam and Eve. God was not taken off guard when the original couple willfully sinned and then hid. He was not disappointed. He never expected they would stay sinless. Our great God had already designed the salvation plan (Genesis 3:15).

The Greek word for entrust is pisteuo, which means to believe, put one’s faith in, trust in, and have confidence in. Jesus knew mankind could not be trusted, and they did not hold the key to His value.

Jesus looked only to His Father for validation. Our Savior’s goal was to please only His Father.

I Don’t Have to Entrust Myself Fully to Anyone Except God.

Our goal as Christians should be to imitate our Savior and resist sinful responses, especially when people disappoint us.

Disappointment is the result of putting faith in our expectations.

When we are disappointed, we have already put our trust in our expectations . . . or a person. We believe that someone can give us all we need and that they are capable of always keeping their promises. When people don’t meet our needs or keep their promises, we often resort to anger, bitterness, and resentment because we are offended.

People cannot be what we want or need.

But look at Jesus’ example. Jesus never looked to imperfect people for anything—as if He could trust us to come through for Him perfectly.

I remember hearing someone say, “God gave me this calling because He knew He could trust me.” I’ve also heard, “I guess I’m not as strong a Christian as I thought. Since so many bad things have been happening, I’ve had to depend upon God.”

Both comments indicate someone who thinks they are capable without God’s power. In essence:

• They don’t need God.
• They act as if they think God must be waiting to be needed.

My friend Beth Siler and I were talking about this topic. Beth said, “When I was a little girl, I thought, ‘God must be really annoyed with me and disappointed because I keep messing up and letting him down.’ I wanted to tell him, ‘You can trust me, God. I won’t let you down. Then you can love me and have a relationship with me.’ But of course, I always failed, which meant I lived thinking He was always disappointed and annoyed with me.”

“But praise the Lord!” Beth said. “He has transformed my thinking to truly believe He is not annoyed with me because He knows me fully. I can never disappoint Him because He wasn’t needing to trust in me or wasn’t expecting me to be perfect in the first place.”

Psalm 103:13-14 affirms Beth’s transformed thinking, which reflects God’s perspective about who His created beings are.

As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. (Italics added.)

It’s laughable. Have you ever looked to dust to meet your needs? Have you noticed your own frame of dust?

Jesus didn’t entrust Himself to others because He knew our inability to be perfect. He also knew we have no power in ourselves—“apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5b). Jesus, as a human, lacked for nothing. You and I lack every good thing if we are not empowered by the Holy Spirit—including the wisdom, selflessness, love, kindness, and self-control needed to keep all our intentions.

As God in human form, Jesus could have become sinfully upset because humans are inconsistent. But He chose to trust in His Father as the only perfect provider. We can grow in our ability to trust in our Father as we recognize that people cannot be what we want or need.

Neither should we trust in ourselves. (Dust, remember?)

Dave Beckwith, director of Standing Stone Ministry, wrote, “Disappointment in self comes from believing in self. These insidious thoughts attach to your mind and emotions, and they are ‘re-sent’ (the root of the word “resentment”)—they’re played over and over again. This process of ruminating over resentments pollutes and poisons your inner being.

“Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you,” Beckwith said. “The word ‘bitterness’ is the Greek word pikria, which means ‘to cut, to prick.’ A bitter person often makes caustic, cutting comments.”¹

Watch for those cutting remarks about others or yourself. Those subtle forms of anger indicate you have entrusted yourself to others—even yourself—and not God.

When is it most difficult for you to respond to disappointment in people? How might the Lord’s example encourage you to be careful where you place your trust and to guard your heart against bitterness?

Photo by Kinkate at Pixabay.

¹ Dave and Joanne Beckwith, The Edge: God’s Power Perfected in Weakness (Elk Lake Publishing Inc., Plymouth, Massachusetts, 2015), pp. 30, 150.