noun
- a strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the future
- a belief that someone will or should achieve something
I've been thinking a lot about the origin and reality of expectations lately. I have never met a person who does not have them. Even the unassuming individual still has expectations of others and probably unmet expectations of himself. They seem to carry a lot of weight in our lives, effecting behavior and attitudes, because they are so intrinsically tied to our humanity.
We are aware of the whos/whats/hows of our surroundings and often draw idealistic conclusions with them, but they bear no reality in our unique lives.
What if we just forgot about expectations and instead, prophetically loved people into their destiny in God...not their destiny in us?
And for ourselves, what if we forgot about expectations and just made room for God to work in us?
I think things would look a bit different.
Check out Isaiah 55:8 & 9
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts."
There's a great example of a man named John the Baptist who, prophesied by Isaiah, prepared the way of the glorious Jesus Christ. God used John and fulfilled His word. However, why is it that the man who prepared the way for Jesus and testified him as the son of God when hearing of Jesus' deeds sent his disciples to ask if 'He was the one or should they look for another?'
Could it be that Jesus' life & deeds didn't look like what John expected?
Unmet expectations can be disappointing, but God is not bound by our expectations. His ways are higher than our ways and/or expectations.
I am learning to rest in that.
