Expectations, What a Downer!
“All chastening seemeth for the present to be not joyous but grievous; yet afterward it yieldeth peaceable fruit unto them that have been exercised thereby, even the fruit of righteousness.”
Hebrews 12:11 ASV
http://bible.com/12/heb.12.11.asv
Each week I pray for the subject God wants me to blog about. This week He kept bringing up the word, expectations. Then this morning He gave me the verse of the day. If you are one of those who say God doesn’t talk, then you’re not listening. It never gets old, I love to hear what God has to say! Nothing He says is in vain!
I’ve had, as most of us have, a life of un-met expectations. They have a tendency to knock you down. On the other hand, I’ve struggled my whole life not living up to others expectations.
When expectations are dumped on us, it’s easy to cry out, it’s not fair! Some of us are better at living up to expectations than others. I’ll tell you right now, I’m not. I tend to get stressed out, depressed, and I literally shut down when I don’t meet others expectations. And that’s why I don’t even try any more. Then that brings me to expectations I have for others. Nobody can ever live up to my expectations! So I don’t have them!
Now that all may sound a bit harsh. Let me explain.
A little less than 37 years ago, I accepted Christ as my Savior. What that meant, among other things, is that I’m a child of the one and only God! A child of the King! He made me the way I am. He has all of me! I’m His and He protects me, fills me with His joy and Love. I’m free from living up to others expectations. With that in mind, I’m reminded that God made everyone else around me as well. To have expectations of others is just as harmful. I’ll admit, it’s not easy to let go, but when we do it is so freeing. Basically it boils down to living for God alone, and everything else will fall into place. A simple concept, but without prayer and reading scripture, and listening to our Heavenly Father, we fall into the expectation trap.
So my challenge to you, the reader, and myself! Whenever we feel sad, depressed, betrayed, hurt, or frustrated, ask yourself: Am I expecting something from someone? Or…Is someone expecting something from me? If the answer is yes to one if these questions, then ask God, is this something you want from me? What do You want me to do? Move the expectation to God and let Him have it. By doing this, the expectation turns into a learning and growing experience that can build us up rather than tear us down.
So, back to the verse chosen for this blog. If we are in a situation that does not meet our expectations, we tend to get upset. It’s hard, and seems unfair to us. We might feel cheated or we might want to run away. We feel like we are the victim. Sometimes, our current situation, while hard and not up to our expectations, is exactly what we need to mold and shape us to what God wants. Sometimes, our unmet expectations can prepare us for something more than we can ever expect! Because our God is Awesome! And Holy! And one expectation we can always count on is He, our Holy God, wants the very best for us!!
Share your expectation experience!! We all want to hear! ❤👍