Great Expectations
Life is full of expectations. Unfortunately, many of those expectations never come to fruition or happen in a way or time different from what we expected. Now, expectations are different from wishful thinking. Often, wishful thinking is characterized by musings over what might be nice to have or do. Expectations, on the other hand, are characterized by thoughts of what should be. The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment when the expectation is not fulfilled. (I’m sure some of you recognize that my title is the same as the famous novel by Charles Dickens, but there is no correlation.)
Expectations are the way life ought to work out. The usual pattern is that a child grows up, gets married, has children, then grandchildren, and eventually dies. I expected that I would find a wife while in college. I would graduate from college and then, a couple of weeks later, get married. Well, I did get married after college, but it was four years after I graduated from college. I didn’t meet my wife while in college in Mississippi, but while living in Las Vegas, Nevada. Never did this boy from Mississippi expect to get married in Las Vegas to a girl from Las Vegas. While there were many wonderful girls at my hometown college in Mississippi, God ignored my expectations and stuck with his plan, and I am very grateful that he did. The time between graduating from college and meeting the woman who would become my wife was, by God’s grace, difficult. When at church or hanging out with friends, there was usually an odd number of people (not a number of odd people). Several couples plus a single guy from Mississippi. God used those scenarios to deal with my own immaturity. I realized that my expectations were more important to me than my walk with Jesus. The Holy Spirit used God’s Word to awaken me to my selfishness and lack of concern for my walk with Christ. God worked in me so that when I did meet the woman whom I would marry, she would meet a man who was seeking God’s kingdom and his righteousness instead of a man who was seeking his own well-being.
What brought all this to mind was a sign I saw outside of a local church. It said, “Expect a miracle.” Now, I have no interest in bad-mouthing this church. While I disagree with the sign, I’m sure there are brothers and sisters in Christ at this church. Why, though, do I think “Expect a miracle” is in error? It is erroneous because there is no basis for the expectation. Just as I had no basis for the expectation that I would get married right out of college, there is no biblical basis for expecting a miracle. We cannot consider what happens as a basis for our beliefs. Yes, many people meet their future spouse in high school or college, but how did that provide any type of guarantee that I would? Yes, there are many miracles in the Bible, but how does that provide any type of guarantee that I will experience a miracle? To be clear, I don’t think the phrase “Expect a miracle” is referring to the miracle of regeneration. It refers to some experience that is clearly supernatural, such as physical healing apart from medical intervention. Does the fact that God has worked in supernatural ways in this world guarantee that he will perform a miracle for me? No. Does God work supernaturally in this world? Yes. God sovereignly works as he pleases, but what he has guaranteed is what he has spoken in his Word. The miracles in the Bible show us who our God and his Christ are. What we should expect is that God will be faithful to himself by keeping his promises and covenants. The promises God has given to us are more numerous than I can mention, but in all these promises, none promise me a miracle. If that is the case, what can I expect? Should I just expect God to do nothing? Should I expect that God will never intervene directly in my life? Of course not. God is always at work in us by his Word and Spirit. Consider these verses.
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6 ESV)
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (Romans 8:28–30 ESV)
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. (2 Peter 1:3–4 ESV)
What I can expect, what I can be sure of, is that I am being conformed to the image of Christ. I can know that my suffering and trials are in the hands of a sovereign and loving God who desires that I reflect the image of his Son.
However, I’m not just concerned with whether I should expect a miracle. That is just an example of the larger point. What should I do with any expectation? Submit it to Jesus. There is no basis in Scripture for me to expect a certain life experience, whether that be a spouse, children, or career. Desiring certain life experiences or outcomes is not inherently wrong, but to fret when our plans are thwarted or expectations are not met is to forget that God’s plans are always for the best. No matter the difficulty, I cannot say, “It would have been better if my plans had worked out.” Remember James 4:13–17,
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. (ESV)
That phrase, “If the Lord wills,” is the key. All of our plans and expectations should be surrounded by “If the Lord wills.” I was arrogant in my expectation that I would get married right out of college. God graciously humbled me. Great expectations can lead to great, but often painful, works of God in your life. Welcome them because they come from a loving Father who wants you to reflect Christ.
Photo by ClickerHappy: https://www.pexels.com/photo/will-you-marry-me-balloon-688293/