Hope / Expectations
Walk with me for a few moments as we probe the tension between hope and expectations. Perhaps many of the inner conflicts we face in life arise from unmet expectations. But, we cannot live in a vacuum of hope. After all, hope gives us an anticipation of future things, of better things, of a new tomorrow, and a better day. Herein is the rub; anticipation sets up our expectations. And it is at this point risk enters. What if our expectations are not realistic?
I look to the pages of scripture to shed some light.
First, I think of John the Baptist. He lived an extreme lifestyle based upon his inner conviction of how he understood God’s purpose for him. Yet, the path he committed himself led to a dungeon. John, like so many have done in their own moments of inner darkness, began to question whether his life had been spent in vain. He began to question if he had misunderstood his God; ‘Are you the Messiah or is there another’? That question has been asked by millions in every generation since John. The very name ‘Messiah’ sets up our expectations.
Generations earlier four other young men faced a similar moment of crisis. They lived by a strict inner code based upon an understanding of God’s call. History knows them as Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Living differently than the norm of the culture they found themselves in, brought them to a place of inner conflict: follow the culture, or follow their inner conviction. A crossroads with two very different outcomes. They chose a path of non-comprise which resulted in the biggest crisis they had faced. Society often does not know what to do with those who will not conform.
So many details from the lives of these young men are worth exploring, but thats discussion for another day. The words they voiced at this moment is what speaks to me. “Our God is able to deliver us, ….BUT if He doesn’t.
Wow, there it is. Their hope clearly was on God, His purpose, and His design. What they did not know was the outcome. Would He deliver them? He was able to, but would He?
Every person who has faced terminal sickness, every parent of a wayward child, everyone who has ever found themselves on an emotional train taking them to a place they did not want to go, has wrestled with this question; I know God is able, but will He? Its only human nature that our expectations are for our best outcome, but clearly expectations do not determine outcomes.
Could it be that the big plan God is always trying to get us to is to not live by our expectations, but by His? That is such a big ‘ask’ of us mere humans. Could it be that this life is not about us; but rather its about living for His glory, for His purpose, and not ours?
The story is told of Mother Teresa who was seen by a tourist. She was found bending down to care for one of the nameless beggars amongst the filth of Calcutta’s streets. Shocked by this display of mercy in the face of such filth, disease and poverty, the tourist voiced,’I wouldn't do that for a million dollars”. Overheard by mother Teresa, her whispered reply was heard, ‘Neither would I”.
Is this what the writer of Hebrews chapter eleven was communicating in the last five verses? ‘The world was not worth of them…they were too good for this world’. Since the pages of scripture were written, few stand above the norms of this life. But their notoriety usual arises from their sacrifices, not there successes. Perhaps there is a clue here for us; we need to let the scope of our expectations to be for God’s glory, and not reduced to the smallness of our success.
So this leads us to another discussion; how small is our thinking? Does the scope of our vision end with our own horizons? Life lived beyond our own limits requires an abandonment to shallow goals, and thinking limited to our abilities. Can we venture into that realm of seeing the world through God’s eyes, and His abilities? What if the end of our ability was not ‘the end of our ability’? Can we arrive at a place where God could do His work through us? Wasn’t it Jesus who did taught us to pray, ‘Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven?
The evangelist Billy Sunday was challenged by the words, ‘the world has yet to see what God could do through the life of one man totally yielded to God’. His response was, ‘by the grace of God, I will be that man.”
So while a life of full surrender to God and His kingdom is a noble goal to seek, we very much live in a fallen world where self centered weakness is seen in the mirror each morning. Perhaps we can let nobility penetrate our thinking and decisions one degree at a time. A little bit more compassionate each day. Just a bit less self centeredness today. A bit more ‘other focused’ may not be seen by many, but the benefit will be ours.
Refining our expectations may be the task of a life time, and I suspect not all will pass the grade. I for one, do not want to come to the end of my days with a life of frustrated and unmet expectations. Rather I want to learn to set my expectations on things that are bigger than me; things that outlive my days; things that leave a God sized footprint on the sands of this earth.
