Expectations Can Be Poison
“Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage; be not affrighted, neither be thou dismayed: for Jehovah thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”
Joshua 1:9 ASV
http://bible.com/12/jos.1.9.asv
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith Jehovah, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope in your latter end. And ye shall call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:11-13 ASV
http://bible.com/12/jer.29.11-13.asv
“If handed a lemon, make lemonade.”
Remember that quote? Sometimes our own expectations can be lemons.
I know from experience that expectations can tear down, cause depression, be frustrating, change attitudes and outlooks on life, and relationships.
Expectations in anything other than our Holy Father can be poison to us. Even expectations put on God can be devastating if not backed by His word.
Yesterday’s devotion helped put things into perspective. All my life, when I expect things to happen a certain way, expect people to be a certain way, I am constantly disappointed. How is it anybody’s fault if they don’t live up to our expectations? As fair goes, it’s not even fair to expect people or situations to be what we feel they should be. How many of us expect God to answer our prayer a certain way and then when it’s not, we question or even get angry with God.
Take a turtle, if we expect a turtle to race a hare and win, we are up for a huge disappointment. No matter what the nursery ryhme says.
We can however, expect God to be faithful and to be who God is. I guess what I’m trying to say, just like anything else, we need to make sure our expectations are in line with God’s truth, His word, by reading and being in prayer with Him. This world tends to warp our expectations if we let it.
A huge expectation fail that I will share, is my expectation of being a stay at home Mom. When we were first married and I was pregnant with our first, I had the privilege of quiting my full time job and staying home to raise our children. My false expectation was that I would be a woman of leisure, watching soap operas and visiting with other mothers, the neighbors, shopping, and volunteering at the schools. Was I ever in for a surprise! I had the privilege of staying home with our 4 children for 15 years. My tv highlights were, Barney, Comfy Couch, and Sesame Street. My shopping was grocery shopping with two carts, one with kids and the other with groceries. Pulling one and pushing the other. My leisure time was on the toilet. Volunteering was mostly nursery during church, and time with friends and neighbors consisted of playtime and or homeschool swapping and field trips. Don’t get me wrong, I loved every bit and would not change anything! But at first it was hard to let go of my expectations, and could’ve turned me into a bitter person.
One thing I know for sure, if we give all our expectations to God, He takes them and turns them into something greater than we can ever imagine!!
Have you ever had an expectation fail? Share if you dare!