Short Thought continued.....

Great Expectations

We appear to be living in a world where bigger and faster appear to mean better: advertisements which suggest the expectation of transforming our home in a weekend is achievable; TV programmes which raise the bar of expectation every year; work performance targets which are set with the expectation that far more than

last year will be achieved.  If such expectations are not met, labels of disappointmentor failure loom. 

We are surrounded by them!

Such expectations can influence us and we can be drawn into feeling pressured n many areas of our lives. 

We can be misled becoming more focused on human expectations rather than God’s. 

Whether such expectations are placed upon us by ourselves or others, we can feel exhausted, anxious and tense.

When we turn away from living according to worldly expectations and live by God’s our focus changes:

we work willingly and whole-heartedly (Col 3:23) relying upon His wisdom and strength;

we become more aware of not working apart from Jesus but of watching Him,

working with Him and letting Him lead us;

we become focused on His desires and synchronised to His plans and purposes

with the outcomes being not what we or others want but what God wants. 

 This releases us to be who God created us to be and  frees us to achieve and fulfil His expectations. 

Our greatest expectations are achieved when we live by God’s.

.

We know when we are living according to His expectations because we see Him working in wondrous ways. 

His ways may not necessarily be of a big and fast nature, they may be small and gentle but

they will always be the better way. 

‘Come to me.  Get away with me and you’ll recover your life.

 I’ll show you how to take a real rest. 

Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it.

Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.

I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.

Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.’

(Matthew 11:28-30 MSG)

Posted 23/3/16