Unmet Expectations

Now there was a famine in the land,

and Abram went down to Egypt to live there

for a while because the famine was severe.

Genesis 12:10

What am I to think when I answer God's call only to step into heartache and pain?  Or I take a leap of faith only to land in a wasteland?  Or I do what God is asking of me only to be rewarded with struggle?  I thought if I obeyed I'd be blessed!  I think to myself.  It was my understanding that God would make my paths straight and the going easy if I trusted Him completely.  I expected things to go smoothly if I only did what He said to do.

The problem here is not with God but with my expectations.  His ways are higher than my ways so it follows that God's plan would be way beyond anything I could comprehend.  Therefore, why would I think things would turn out the way I expect?  He has something much better in mind.

As a result, when I answer God's call but instead of triumph I experience what seems like defeat, I can take heart knowing that God's love for me is not diminished one iota and His good plan is still in effect.  I must look through eyes of faith and trust in the One who has my best interest at heart and who promised to never leave me and to always take care of my needs.  (Romans 8:28,Deuteronomy 31:6, Matthew 6:31-33)

Or when I take a risk and jump into the great unknown only to land on what seems like shaky ground, I can remember that God's plan transcends my understanding.  While I focus more on the here and now, His focus is eternal.  He takes me places I'd never go on my own steam so that I can learn things about Him, His kingdom and my faith that I'd never otherwise comprehend.  The life of a follower of Christ involves on-the-job training!

Or when I do what God asks me to do only to find my circumstances taking a turn for the worse, I can remember that God's blessings are mostly spiritual, not physical.    Through the struggle I will be rewarded with the blessings of experiencing the comfort that only comes from the Father of Compassion, or His tender love that gives me hope for what is to come, or His grace that makes each breath possible.  Sometimes, simply the awareness of how much I have been given is a much greater blessing than receiving all the riches in the world yet being ignorant of God's intimate touch.

Today, it is my intention to look at my current situation through eyes of faith, dropping my fleshly expectations of what I think should happen and simply let God be God, not limiting Him in any way by what I think He has planned for my life.  Instead, I want to see God's plan for what it is: perfect, good, and completely beyond my ability to comprehend.