Expectations
March 2, 2025
Dr. Paul Cannings
No one expected the Houston Texans to win the Super Bowl in their early years. Anyone who is a football fan expected them to play like any other start-up team back in the day. Just suppose during those early years, they won fifty percent of their games. Most commentators would say wonderful things as if they had done great and had a wonderful season. Circumstances shape our expectations. How much money we have, whether our marriages are okay, whether our jobs are great, how we feel, and where we live. We may say incredible things about what God can do, but how much does what we say shape what we expect?
When I think of Abraham, who God told to go to Canaan, whose wife was barren, and who lived during a drought, and Lot’s family who was kidnapped, and lived a nomadic life, God shaped their expectations. His circumstances did not change for twenty-five years. I wonder why Abraham did not allow his expectations to be shaped by his circumstances. Noah never saw a flood and never had to build a boat, but his circumstances did not shape his expectations for one hundred years. David had to run from Saul after doing no harm to him; he remained faithful to God, never killing Saul and always seeking to obey God. David did not allow these circumstances to shape his expectations that he would be king. Could you imagine Daniel in the lion’s den, Joseph in jail believing in his dreams, not allowing circumstances to determine future expectations? A pregnant woman does not allow the pain, discomfort, and financial pressure to remove her expectation of having a healthy baby. What about us? Do our present circumstances determine our expectations before God?
We believe in verses such as Matthew 19:26, which says, “And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Philippians 4:12-13; “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Philippians 1:6; “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” Matthew 28:20; “teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” If we believe these verses, do they improve, maintain, or remove our expectations as we seek to live humbly before God?
A bird jumps off a wire because it expects to fly. A dog wags its tail because it expects to eat. A baby reaches for its parent because the child expects the parent to lift them. Does God’s goodness, faithfulness, love, forgiveness, mercy, and holy Word strengthen our expectations?