Expectations

Expectations can be defined as the end result that a person demands or has a strong request for. If not met, it can lead to great disappointment and if it’s achieved beyond measures it results in a huge surprise and happy endings. I have been told all my life what my expectations are in school by my parents. They wanted the best for me, and if I didn’t reach those expectations they wanted, there were definite changes that had to be made. When I started working my bosses demanded certain expectations, and if these were not met it could have great consequences to follow.

Now relating expectations to religion, it seems as Christians, that we expect a lot out of God. We know he is capable of the impossible, so we tend to fall back and hope he takes care of it. But we have to realize, we don’t always get what we expect. We have turned the word expect into a demand of things we want. It is not the things we would like to see happen, but the things we have to see happen. This is where things get so messed up and people get let down and disappointed the worse! We also go into church expecting the preacher to say the exact thing we need to hear to solve all of our problems that week. But the things we are expecting are not always the things we need, but the things we want. God has such great plans for our lives and most of the time the things we want sound great to us, and we will do whatever it takes to get them. But when we step back and quit expecting the things we want to appear, something even better will arrive at our front door.

We are not promised anything except for everlasting life, if we believe in God. Proverbs 27:1 ~ “Don’t boast about tomorrow, for you don’t know what a day may bring forth” You never know when the last day will come or what things God has in store for you tomorrow. But be patient and know that all things work for good for those that love God. Romans 8:24-25 ~ “For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”

What I hope you get out of this message is not to completely quit expecting things, but to quit expecting the things you want to happen. God is great and powerful and can make anything he wants to happen, but those good things that happen, happen in His perfect timing! Don’t expect just the possible with God, expect the impossible!