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Jul 23, 2022 08:00am

Mismatched Expectations

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What I saw yesterday still makes me laugh. I was in the produce section at the store, and out of the corner of my eye I saw two people walking toward each other; apparently they hadn’t seen each other in a while. One was expecting a simple quick handshake but that’s not what the other friend expected. He went for the bear hug! After an awkward recovery, they both laughed, talked for a bit and continued shopping. (No I wasn’t spying, I was trying to pick out my watermelon!)

When I think about those two friends, not only do I chuckle a bit because I can relate to mismatched expectations, I’m also curious if we have mismatched expectations with the Lord. More specifically, do we have mismatched expectations when reading His Word?

Do we expect too little?

We might come to His Words hoping to get a sweet little nugget of truth…maybe we’ve had a bad day and need encouragement. While He certainly gives the encouragement, our expectations are often a fraction of what God has in His Word for us. What if instead of a pat on the back, God wants to do a total heart transformation ( or instead of a quick handshake He goes for the bearhug?!)?

Could it be that we sometimes go to the Bible for a quick pick me up, but He has so much more He wants to teach us and do in our lives and in our world?

He wants to reveal who He is.
He wants to show us who we are in His eyes.
He wants to share His truth with us.
He wants to transform us.
He wants to teach us what life in His kingdom is like.
He wants to resurrect our dead hearts.
He wants to awe us with His glory.
He wants to convict, encourage, rearrange,

And yet, we often open the pages, read a phrase or two and hope it sticks. Or worse, we read, learn and study and bask in the knowledge of the Words without knowing the Author of those Words.

Can we simply go to Scripture for quick help and support? Of course we can. Just like we can go to the ocean for a quick view of beauty. But oh, there is so much more. The depth, the width, the intricate details, the enormity, the life within…there is no floor to the ocean of His Word! Oh believer, dive in. Stop settling for “quick handshakes” from Scripture. Let God use His Word and His Spirit to do “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).” I wonder if sometimes God wants to do more in us and through us, but He’s waiting on us to raise our expectations.

A few Scriptures to consider:

Psalm 5:3 In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.

Psalm 81:10 I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.

Matthew 13:58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

John 5:39-40 You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

Ephesians 3:20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.