When you say something like expectation, people think all kinds of things. Some responses are emotional and others are practical...things will turn out the way they’re going to turn out, no matter what you do.
Don’t develop your expectations based upon other people’s opinions. Paul was not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, no matter what his circumstances were. He was singing in the midnight hour from a jail cell, and yet remained undeterred in his mission.
“FOR THIS REASON I ALSO SUFFER THESE THINGS; NEVERTHELESS I AM NOT ASHAMED, FOR I KNOW WHOM I HAVE BELIEVED AND AM PERSUADED THAT HE IS ABLE TO KEEP WHAT I HAVE COMMITTED TO HIM UNTIL THAT DAY.” — 2 TIMOTHY 1:12
Recent research shows that 80% of church goers do not openly share their faith with those around them. After they leave church, they don’t do anything else to engage others in the Gospel. Why? I believe they don’t share openly because they have a pre-determined expectation of what will happen when they do. If they invite their neighbor to church... they might say no. Their co-worker might be offended and turn them in to HR. If they take their faith outside of the church, it might cause them some trouble; people might paint them in a negative light. These people are placing their expectations in the wrong place.
If God is for me, who can be against me (Romans 8:31)? Only when the church has enough confidence to share their faith outside of the church walls will we make an impact on the world around us. We need to place our expectations in the right place, pointed toward God the Father. We need to believe that He has our very best in mind, even when we can only see the smallest sliver of our existence in front of us.
As a man thinketh, so is he (Proverbs 23:7).
Your expectations drive your beliefs. Where do your expectations come from? Do they come from those around you, or from the Word of God? Are you trying to gain the approval of your boss, friend, neighbor, mother-in-law...? Are your expectations for the future based upon past experiences? That’s a very limited perspective. None of us understands all that God did to bring us to the moment we are living right now. Don’t limit a limitless God.
Do you remember Daniel and the lion’s den? He could have easily become discouraged...but he prayed, as was his habit. He was still thrown into the lion’s den. Being a Christian doesn’t mean you don’t have problems; it means that God shows up for you in a mighty way when you call out to Him with great expectation. Daniel cried out to God from the lion’s den and he was saved.
Even when the rules changed... Daniel didn’t. He stayed the course and prayed...as was his custom. King Darius of Persia paced the floor while Daniel slept like a baby in the lion’s den. When the king cried out for Daniel the following day, he responded that his God had delivered him.
Your beliefs become your behaviors and your behaviors become your habits. Do your habits include praying every day, reading the Word of God, seeking Him in your daily life? Your habit of praying with great expectation gives you the ability to move mountains of impossibility.
You live in the here and the now. You cannot see from your vantage point all that God is doing for you, how He is working in your life on your behalf to give you an unbelievable future. Keep praying with great expectation, even when you cannot see the great things that are just before you.
Because of Daniel’s faithfulness, all that was taken from the children of Israel was returned to them by King Darius. Everything that was stolen from the temple, every item that was stripped....was returned. Do you need something to be restored in your life? Cry out to God with great expectation. Don’t base your prayers on your own ability or your past experiences. Our God is greater! His power is limitless!
I know in whom I have believed and He is able!
What would happen in your life if you were to expect the unexpected?Growing up in the Hagee house... we lived a lot of “unexpected” days. In fact, one particular day, a moose fell on my head when I was a child, eating at a restaurant with my family. As we walked in the front door, I spotted a huge moose in the corner that just mesmerized me. I asked my dad if I could go see the moose. He said yes, as soon as I was finished eating. No problem.
So, I finished eating my lunch very quickly and asked again if I could go see the moose. My dad gave me very specific instructions. “Son, whatever you do, don’t touch the moose.” I mean, what could the moose do? It was dead, right?
But dangling from his chin was something that mesmerized me and I just had to....watch my hand in slow motion reach up for a brief moment. I’m still unsure if I actually touched it or not, but in the next moment I woke up underneath a taxidermied moose head.
My first thought was that my dad was going to kill me. So, I weaved through the tables back to my family as the restaurant watched me. (The crashing sound may have garnered a little unwanted attention.) I said, “Dad, a moose fell on my head.” You guessed it. The entire restaurant (very unsympathetically) started laughing!
Growing up in my house, you learned to expect the unexpected.
In everybody’s life there is something that takes you by surprise because it’s unexpected. But there are things we can expect from God in our lives. We can expect signs and wonders; we can expect the sick to be healed. Supernatural things should be happening in the lives of every Believer.
There are things that God expects from us. When we fulfill our part, it leaves our lives open for God to complete the unexpected in our lives. Are you looking for something supernatural to happen in your life? Expect the unexpected!
God is faithful to fulfill the great work He has begun in you. What are your thought patterns? Are they fixed on Jesus? What are your habits?
Take control of what you are spending your time on, what you are fixating on...and these things will become how you live your life. Begin to expect the goodness of God to flow over every portion of your life like a great tidal wave of blessing. Let His goodness and love, His miracle- working power flood your life like never before. Get ready! Great things are on the way
