Great Expectations

Luke 18:27(NIV) Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

I recently heard a friend say that she needed to lower her expectations.  That got me thinking about expectations in general. 

Often we have expectations for ourselves that are way too high and our failure to reach them leaves us feeling unhappy and miserable.  Or perhaps we have such low expectations for ourselves that we reach them with no problem but walk through life feeling unfulfilled and dissatisfied with our life.

We might have expectations for our children. Maybe we want our children to perform in a certain way, get all A’s, excel in a sport, play a musical instrument, or attend a certain college.  If we were honest we all have some of these in the back of our minds, however, the reality is that there may be a good reason why our children cannot meet these expectations.  Possibly they were born with a handicap or learning disability.  Perhaps they are not coordinated enough to play sports. They might enjoy painting or drawing rather than music.  Or maybe they feel drawn to technical/trade school and don’t want to attend college at all. 

In each of these situations we might need to lower or change our expectations to meet the needs, abilities, passions, or desires of our children.  We might feel disappointed, however, because we love them and want what is best for them we will willingly (hopefully) provide them the opportunities to see their desires and goals come to pass even if it is not what we envisioned for them.   

Another area of expectations is with our spouse.  This is an area where the enemy works overtime.  He tries to convince us that we deserve better than we are getting from our spouse.  He draws our attention to other people and how they treat their spouse or others.  He tells us we would be better off looking somewhere else to find our needs met or our desires fulfilled. 

Sometimes our expectations are too high in our marriage as well.  We need to look honestly at our spouse and his personality.  Are the things we expect within the realm of his personality or are we expecting him to become someone he is not?  Are the things we expect personal preferences or are they really important to the functioning of our home and better for our relationship? Could we meet our own expectations that we place on him? Are we meeting his expectations? 

The list of areas where we might have unfulfilled expectations can go on:

1. Parents

2. Siblings

3. Employers

4. Co-workers

5. Church

6. Pastor

7. Friends

8. Etc….

I want us to focus on one final area where we have expectations: God

Our theme verse Luke 18:27 tells us that nothing is impossible with God.  Yet as believers we often have very low expectations of God.  Yes, we receive the gift of salvation provided for us by the death and resurrection of Christ, sometimes we pray for healing or for God to get us out of a jam, we may even say we believe God will provide for our needs, but what do we really expect from God?

The Bible is full of promises God has made for those who believe.  Do we really believe them?  Do we expect God to stand by His Word?  Do we believe we can claim the promises and see them fulfilled?

I. The Promises (not an exhaustive list!! J)

A. God hears us and answers when we pray according to His will.

1 John 5:14 (NIV) This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

B. God will supply all our needs.

Philippians 4:19 (NLT) And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.

C. God has good plans for our life.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT) For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

D. God will keep us from falling (giving into sin, walking away from Him, living for our flesh).

Psalm 37:24 (NLT) Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.

E. God’s power will come through for us.

2 Corinthians 12:9a (NLT) “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.”

F. God will take care of us.

1 Peter 5:7 (NLT) Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

G. God will help us escape/ overcome temptation.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (NLT) The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.

H. God will give us good things, withholding no good thing.

Psalm 84:11 (NLT) For the Lord God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.

I. God will direct our path.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT) Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

J. God will help us succeed.

Proverbs 16:3 (NLT) Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.

K. God sees our needs and is prepared to meet them.

Matthew 6:31-32 (NLT) 31“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.

II. Expectations vs. Faith

How often do we pray but not really believe our prayer will be answered?  We say we believe because that is what a Christian is supposed to say, however, when we look deep in our hearts our faith is weak.  This is due to low expectations.  We know God answers the prayers of some people, but we don’t expect Him to answer our prayers.  We wish He would, however, wishing and faith are two different things. 

If we believe God is who He says He is we will expect Him to keep His Word.  If we truly expect God to fulfill His promises we will have faith to believe that our prayers will be answered. 

III. Great Expectations

While we might need to lower our expectations of ourselves and others we need to increase our expectations of God; placing our faith and confidence in the One who is Faithful and True!

Numbers 23:19 states: God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? (NIV)

God has never failed to fulfill His promises.  We can read the Bible cover to cover and never find one instance where God failed His people.  I promise you that if you expect God to keep His Word, He will.  He is not going to ruin His perfect record by failing you!!