Expectations are cruel things. Even though we’re told to “expect great things from God” we somehow feel that’s a betrayal when we consider reality doesn’t often return to us what we’ve perceived as fair.
There is such a paradox operant in life so far as expectations are concerned.
Sure, we’re to expect God to break through—as God promises to do—but the trouble is God’s not often breaking through miraculously so far as we’re personally concerned. God’s usually got a bigger agenda.
But we’re not insignificant—not in God’s sight.
The biblical James talks about the person in humble circumstances taking pride in their high position (James 1:9). Surely this is another paradox. It is a ‘high position’ the person in humble circumstances has in God’s sight, not the world’s.
Could it just be that we’re to expect great things from God, i.e. in our world, yet have low expectations for ourselves, personally—regarding what we’re to receive?
When we receive much we’re overjoyed but when we receive little we’re not disappointed. This is because our expectations are grounded and realistic; our imaginations haven’t held sway.
The location of our expectations is central to our felt joy.
© 2010 S. J. Wickham.
I enjoy your writings thank you for sharing God's word as you do!
ReplyDeleteHey Steve,
ReplyDeleteour expectations, our sense of entitlement and what we feel we deserve out of life are three very interesting concepts to me. They determine so much of what kind of experiences we are allowed to have in this life, as well as how we view them: Will these experiences we're granted make us happy or unhappy?
It is so important for each person, for each individual psychological structure, to get these questions handled to achieve true joy.
That's why I enjoyed your article so much. This really resonates with me:
"Sure, we’re to expect God to break through—as God promises to do—but the trouble is God’s not often breaking through miraculously so far as we’re personally concerned. God’s usually got a bigger agenda.
But we’re not insignificant—not in God’s sight."
Here's something I want to add: We're never insignificant. Never. But what I found out what really helped me is TO ALIGN WITH the Universes agenda (I use the word "Universe" instead of "God").
Now, of course no single human being can claim to know what the Universes agenda is. However, you can closely listen to what your life is telling you and go from there. That's a good starting point in my opinion.
So Steve, thank you for this inspiring article. I saved your blog and I'm going to check back in. ;-)
Keep up the good work,
Sven Schoene
Thank you, Nikki and Sven. I really enjoyed reading your feedback. I certainly love what I do. I read joy in your words!
ReplyDeleteGod bless,
Steve.