Has someone ever placed an expectation on you, assuming that you would be a certain way or do a certain thing? “Oh, you’re so-and-so’s brother/sister, etc. You must be really good at __________.” Or how about this one: “Oh, you make that much! Life must be pretty easy for you.” Or even, “I really would have thought you would have been more __________ than that.” Maybe some of these struck home to you or maybe you can think of other expectations that have been placed on you because of who you are, where you are from, what family you grew up in, what job you have, car you drive, house you live in, or clothes you wear. The list goes on and on, but many of us can think of numerous times where we have been the victim of someone else’s unrealistic expectation of us.
Now, have you ever placed an expectation on someone else? If so, what was it for or about? Was it a fair expectation? We are pretty good about making expectations about quite a bit of things in our lives whether it be about the food we eat, the movies we watch, the places we visit, or even the people closest to us. Usually, our expectations of grandeur fall short of their desired effect because many times our expectations of something or someone may be unfair, unreasonable, unrealistic, and can be downright self-seeking.
We can also see situations in our lives where we are completely blown away by expectations we have that are far too low. Usually, we hear people say, “Wow! I did not expect that!”
In our world of expectations it can seem just as easy to place expectations on God. And in many cases, God doesn’t always match up or measure up to what we think or expect He should be or do for us. But in many cases, God turns our expectations of Him on their head and this is for our benefit. God blows the roof right off of our expectations at times because they are only seeking to serve ourselves or our own agendas or they are far too short of His glorious perspective and plan. We see this over and over again in Scripture. God comes through in ways that were not expected. He shows up in unexpected ways and places, providing in ways we couldn't have imagined. Maybe you can think of times like this in your own life. We can be thankful that God continues to blow away our wildest expectations of Him and shows us His glory, power, and love that is for each of us.
Ben Bigaouette
Now, have you ever placed an expectation on someone else? If so, what was it for or about? Was it a fair expectation? We are pretty good about making expectations about quite a bit of things in our lives whether it be about the food we eat, the movies we watch, the places we visit, or even the people closest to us. Usually, our expectations of grandeur fall short of their desired effect because many times our expectations of something or someone may be unfair, unreasonable, unrealistic, and can be downright self-seeking.
We can also see situations in our lives where we are completely blown away by expectations we have that are far too low. Usually, we hear people say, “Wow! I did not expect that!”
In our world of expectations it can seem just as easy to place expectations on God. And in many cases, God doesn’t always match up or measure up to what we think or expect He should be or do for us. But in many cases, God turns our expectations of Him on their head and this is for our benefit. God blows the roof right off of our expectations at times because they are only seeking to serve ourselves or our own agendas or they are far too short of His glorious perspective and plan. We see this over and over again in Scripture. God comes through in ways that were not expected. He shows up in unexpected ways and places, providing in ways we couldn't have imagined. Maybe you can think of times like this in your own life. We can be thankful that God continues to blow away our wildest expectations of Him and shows us His glory, power, and love that is for each of us.
Ben Bigaouette
