Promise for Today - What You Expect

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.

2 Peter 1:3 NLT

The vast majority of people pay no attention to eternity. They’re living for the here and now, which is a waste. Most of what’s “here and now” isn’t going to matter in five days, much less 50 years—and certainly not for eternity.

If we stretched a rope from California to Tokyo, and that represented all of eternity, your life on earth wouldn’t even register by comparison—not even a millimeter! So how do you live in light of eternity? You live for God’s glory, because he’s going to share his glory with you in heaven. You don’t get to choose what’s going to happen to you the rest of your life. But you do get to choose how you respond.

You can face the future as a cynic, a critic, a pessimist, or a doubter. You can face the future expecting the worst and experiencing the worst. You can face your future being ungracious to other people, and you can live for your own glory.

Or you can face the future with gratitude, generosity, and graciousness . . . and live for God’s glory.

Which one do you think will make you happier? Which one do you think will make you more successful? Which one do you think will bring a smile to God and bring rewards in heaven?

Matthew 5:16 says, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (ESV).

We were created because God wants a family. He wants to spend eternity with his family. He wants to spend eternity with you and me! Heaven is one of the main reasons we can have joy—God has given us eternal life, and living in heaven with him will be amazing!

Talk It Over

In what ways does God use your time on earth to prepare you for eternity?

How does being grateful and generous make you happier?

When you expect the worst in life, what does that say about what you believe about God?

- by Pastor Rick

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Prayer:

Father,

          In a world rife with confusion and noise, it is so easy for our souls to become tangled in the web of worry and anxious thoughts. There are so many voices vying for our attention and so many distractions that draw our focus away from You. Yet, we are reminded by Your Word to quiet our spirit and redirect our thoughts toward You. We ask for Your strength to wait patiently, with unwavering faith and steadfast resolve, to trust that You are working, even when we do not see it. Lord, we lift our hearts to You in expectation. When the storms of life rage and uncertainties loom large, it is so easy to forget that our expectations should rest in You, for Your plans are always for our good. You are a faithful God, and Your promises are everlasting. As we meditate on this verse, we seek to cultivate an attitude of expectancy. Help us, Father, to see and acknowledge the blessings that already surround us. May we learn to recognize the mercies and the moments of grace that often go unnoticed in our rush to find resolution. Teach us that the beauty of waiting lies not only in the outcome but also in the process of becoming more attuned to Your voice and sensitive to Your Spirit. God of all hope, we also lift up those who find waiting to be hard and heavy. For those who feel burdened by their expectations and are struggling to see Your hand at work, we pray for comfort and reassurance. May they find their souls anchored in promise and their hearts renewed in faith. O Lord, remind us all that You are not indifferent to our struggles but that You are ever-present and intimately involved in our lives. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Expecting

He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child.

And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

Luke 2:5-7 NLT 

There is a lot of happy expectation around the world at this time of year, especially in the hearts of children. Their anticipation, the excitement - it's almost more than they can stand! For me, it is so fun to watch them. Whatever your Christmas or holiday traditions are, there is an expectation that comes with it.

What are you expecting? Has this year played out the way you were expecting? At the last New Year, we weren't expecting CoVID and when it did come about, we certainly weren't expecting to still be working from home 9 months later. 

How often do we miss what we are expecting because we expect it to arrive in a certain way and when it doesn't, it's often overlooked? Like the people expecting a Messiah to save them, but who would make His entrance by being born in a manger. Like the death of the King to establish eternal life in His kingdom for all eternity.

So we have to ask ourselves, are our expectations aligned with the Word of God?  

What are you expecting?

Let's pray together this beautiful prayer that I found this evening, written by Aubrey Coleman, staff writer at The Daily Grace Co. 

Prayer:

Heavenly Father,

You are good and You do good. 
Anything good that we receive comes from You.
You have formed the heavens and the earth.
You have made us for Yourself, and we find the fullness of life in You.
You are gracious in all that you do.
You care for us unconditionally.
You see our lives from young age to old and plan it according to our good and Your glory.
You know all things and see all things.
You have the best vantage point to see what’s best for us.
You are patient and kind.
Your timing is perfect.
Everything that comes to be, arrives at Your appointed times.

I confess that I have many expectations for my life.
I sometimes feel that I cannot do life well without these things.
I find myself becoming emotional when I don’t have these things, or when I’m faced with the possibility of losing them.
I sometimes lay awake at night worrying about them.
I look for the easy way to get these things.
I plan my own ways and try to establish my own steps.
I realize that these expectations can often rule my heart.
Sometimes I choose to believe that they will bring me true joy and happiness.
Sometimes I wonder if You are withholding good things from me.
Sometimes I wonder why others can have this, but I cannot.
Sometimes I become bitter and envious of others who have what I want.
My eyes fixate on my expectations and desires instead of You.
My desire for them can sometimes dictate the decisions I make.
My hopes to have them can sometimes cause me to miss out on the good gifts You have given.
I can often cling tightly to my expectations instead of relinquishing them to You!

Thank You for Your grace and patience with me.
For every time my eyes wander, Your gracious hand reaches out to turn me back to You.
Thank You for loving me without contingencies.
Thank You for loving me more than I could even know to desire to be loved.
Thank You for caring for me in ways I couldn’t even think up on my own.
Thank You for never turning Your back on me.
Thank You for allowing me to entrust my desires to You.
Thank You for listening to the longings of my heart.
Thank You for hearing even the smallest of my requests.
Thank You for promising what’s best for me even when I don’t see clearly what that is.
Thank You for orchestrating all things in a way that brings glory to Your name.
Thank You for giving me the fullness of joy and satisfaction in You.
Thank You for teaching me through my unmet expectations.

Please help me to give my desires and expectations to You.
Help me to long more for You and Your glory than for the fruition of my own plans.
Stir in my heart desires for what You desire.
Teach me truths in Your word, so that I can walk faithfully in accordance with them.
Teach me more of Your attributes, so that I may cling to them when I am doubting You.
Help me hold fast to Your promises, knowing that You always keep them.
Rescue me from any desire or expectations that keep me from You.
Remind me time and time again, that I have been offered the greatest gift in Jesus.
Remind me that He is enough.
Remind me of my hope in Him, even when my hopes are deferred and my expectations remain unmet.

In Jesus’ Name,
Amen

Friends' Favorites - What Do You Expect?

But his joy is in those who reverence him, those who expect him to be loving and kind.
Psalm 147:11 LB

Expect is a verb; an action word. It is generally defined one of three ways: 

• To believe with confidence, or to think it most likely that an event will take place in the future, as in, 'That was expected to happen.'
• To wait for an anticipated thing, such as 'I expect a visit soon.'
• To anticipate something as right or duty, for instance, 'Parents expect their children to obey the rules.'

If a child thinks you expect him to fail, he will. If he thinks you expect him to behave badly, he will. By the same token, if you expect him to succeed, he will give it everything he's got. He'll do more than he would typically be able to accomplish simply because you expect it of him. Husbands and wives do the same thing. And statistics prove that if an employee expects to be fired, he will invariably do something that will expedite that very action. People will rise and fall to what is expected of them. Yes, expect is very much an action word.

We are made in the image and likeness of God, according to His Word. We are His children. His love never changes, but His joy or anger with us can be kindled by our actions toward Him and what He expects of us, whether implicitly or explicitly defined. 1st John 3:2-3 tells us, Dear friends, we are already God's children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.  [emphasis mine]

Having certain expectations is not wrong as long as they line up with God's Word. God's joy is in those of us who reverence Him, those who expect Him to be loving and kind. He expects us to accept Christ's sacrifice for our sin as the gift of mercy and grace that it is. God expects us to be pure as He is pure. These are reasonable expectations. What do you expect?

Prayer:

Father,
         Set our sight on things above and not things on earth. Help us to walk according to Your expectations of us. We want to walk with clean hands and pure hearts. Let us see You for who You are. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen