Part II: What Do You Expect?

 

“Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles…”

Isaiah 40:31

 

The Power of Expectations

What do you expect of God? Last time, in Part I of this series, “What Do You Expect?’ we talked about the expectations we have of ourselves and others. Just to review, you may remember there are 3 types of expectations that we all hold:

• Expectations of ourselves.
• Expectations others have for us and we have of them.
• Expectations we have of God and those He has of us.

Today, we are going to talk about what God expects of us, and what we expect of Him.

Have you ever gotten angry or felt offended and didn’t know why? Perhaps the reason is that you hold unrealistic expectations for yourself, others, or God. Unmet, unrealistic expectations are powerful enough to bring about discord with others due to strong negative emotions, like feeling offended, angry, disappointed, discouraged or all of the above feelings. That is exactly why we are talking today about expectations again today.

Relationships often hinge on expectations—both met expectations, and unmet expectations. So let’s take a look at both. How we manage our expectations has everything to do with our relationships, and how content and happy we are in our daily lives. Nothing can disrupt your happiness, joy, inner peace, and relationships more quickly than having unrealistic, unmet expectations which can cause a dust-up, or worse yet, estrangement from others and even from God. We need to continually strive to keep our expectations realistic and in-check, and make adjustments as needed. Yes–understanding the role that realistic expectations play in our lives is vitally important to having positive, lasting, solid relationships, and happiness, as we grow in our faith in God.

God’s Expectations of Us

The power of expectations is undeniable, and expectations are most often a two-way street when dealing with other people. But in our relationship with God, it is different. We experience a different relationship. For we serve an “If” and “Then” God, and scriptural examples abound. For example, as in what God said, in 2 Chronicles 7:14:

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land…”

All through Holy Scripture, we see God making clear His expectations of us at various times in a variety of ways. One need only read scripture to see that God has always made His expectations and promises known to His people. Yes—God has made His expectations known throughout the ages to His people of every generation. But it is up to us as to whether we seek and follow Him as our Lord and Savior…or not. Joshua is a great example of someone who accepted God’s expectations of him, as he made service to God his life’s work as he proclaimed in The Old Testament. What a proclamation of faith:

“As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Joshua 24:15

We must always remember we have full access to God, through Our Lord, Jesus Christ, but are not His equals. Praying with holy boldness and divine confidence that He will hear and answer our prayers is vitally important. However, demanding things of God never bodes well for us. So it is important to know our place when praying to God, praying with great awe and respect; confidence and anticipation, is key. However, we need to be careful not to let our own expectations get the better of us, and arrogantly move into an arena of entitlement, with Our Creator and Lord.

So what about our expectations of God, and those expectations that He has of us? Managing our expectations, is a necessity for living a happy, faith-filled life. We need to recognize that the expectations that matter most are not those of other people, but God’s expectations. We don’t need to please other people, just God. In fact, when Jesus walked the earth, He gave us just two new commandments that incorporate all of the 10 Commandments. If and when we do these two things, everything else falls into place for us: For scripture tells us that Jesus said:

 “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Luke 10:27

 

When Expectations Go Awry

When our expectations go awry and are not managed well, we can become out of balance, upended, and disconnected from others, and especially, God. Perhaps where our relationship with God is concerned, our expectations should really be reflections of hope and trust in Him. It is easy to forget the reality that God is in control of every aspect of our lives. We need to place our trust in Him. In essence, our prayers should always be requests, not demands…

When we pray, we are not to demand things of God, and expect Him to do what we ask, as if we were entitled. Rather, we are to pray, in the name of Jesus, with great confidence and humility; respectfully, fervently, and with confidence—then wait patiently with great anticipation–as to how He will answer our prayers. We need to pray and trust that God will respond in His own special time and way. His answers to our prayers will always be for the good, in accordance with His Divine Will. Expecting God to do certain things must be tempered with the belief that He works all things out for good on our behalf. We don’t know the full story or the gravity of any situation, or really even what we need–but He does! So we trust in Him.

Life is best lived believing that God is over all; kind, and merciful beyond measure, and He has our best interest at heart. Careful to never expect or demand things of Him, we must learn to anticipate his answers to our prayers as expressions of His unfailing grace. We need to pray heartfelt prayers, humbly asking for whatever we need. And we also need to remember to always return in prayer to thank Him for His mercy and grace and all of the ways that He lovingly answers our prayers. We need to trust in God and respectfully defer to Him in all things, as we faithfully remember what is written in Romans 8:28:

“All things work for good for those who Love God…”

It’s true!

Reasons to Hope & Trust In God

So what do YOU expect of God? Perhaps it’s time to become more aware of our expectations of God, and the reason for our hope. Sometimes we need to make adjustments when we realize that our expectations are unrealistic and unmet—especially where God is concerned. As we replace our unrealistic expectations with realistic ones, it has the power to enable us to get back on track and live happier, more productive lives as we accept, and place our trust in, the plan that God has for us. And He does have a blessed plan for each of us!

Referring back to our opening scripture, we can see that hope in God is never ever wasted. Rather, prayer and hope in God is rejuvenating and renewing. For God is our strength, especially when our expectations are in line with His perfect Divine Will!

“Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles…”

Isaiah 40:31

Copyright 2022   |   Adele M. Gill

 

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