High Expectations

I don't know about you, but I'm not a huge fan of heights. That doesn't necessarily stop me from doing a lot of things (like skiing) or dreaming of trying things (like skydiving), but when it comes to jumping off of a high cliff into water, I'd really like to have a clear understanding of what is in the water before I take the leap.

Isn't that the case with everything in life?

Life is full of variables that we don't understand or can't see the full picture. I think it's a pretty safe generalization to say that we tend to be "risk adverse", especially when it comes to expectations. We're unsure of how things will turn out, so it seems safer to keep our expectations low so we aren't disappointed. There's this idea that if you have high expectations and they fall through, the disappointment will be greater than if you had low or no expectations at all.

I think this is a lie that the enemy really wants us to buy into. Why? Because he's a thief and he wants to steal our joy. He's incredibly rude like that.

You see, what I've begun to realize is that disappointment is disappointment, no matter where you start from to get there. Think of it this way. Say you have a dog that you really love. You know that unless something unforeseen happens, you are going to outlive that dog. Thinking of this sweet creature dying someday is not something anyone looks forward to, so say you decide to try to ease the coming sadness by keeping your dog at a distance. Every day you look at it and say "you're going to die someday and that's going to hurt, so don't snuggle with me. Don't lick me. I'm not taking you for walks or playing with you and I'm not rubbing your belly. You are going to die someday and that is going to hurt." You know what? If you did that, I guarantee when your dog dies you're still going to be sad, you're still going to hurt, maybe not quite as badly as if you had really loved it, but you know what you missed out on? The JOY. You missed out on the unconditional love of that furry friend, the enthusiastic greetings every time you walk in the door (even if you just went to the garage :)), the joy of playing in the park and the sweet snuggles on the couch. You didn't avoid what you were actually trying to avoid, you really only missed out on the GOOD stuff!

And that, my friends, is how a lot of us live our lives. We keep our expectations of God somewhere in the middle-zone because we're afraid that if we actually expect Him to do great things, to show up BIG time, to do things beyond our wildest expectations, that he might say no and we will be painfully disappointed. The reality is, even the times that God says no along the way, it's only because his YES is so much greater up ahead!! There may be momentary disappointments, but they are nothing compared to the joy of watching Him come through in bigger ways than you thought possible.

So while I used to be someone that just watched from the sidelines as everyone else jumped, I'm choosing to climb to the highest cliffs, pressing through my fears and taking a leap of faith - expecting GREAT things to happen - because I want to experience the FULLNESS of life. I don't want to risk saving myself from the hurt only to miss out on the joy...because "God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us." Ephesians 3:20 MSG

Let Him in. Let Him do His thing and watch the JOY He gives you rise far above your disappointment.  

"We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love." Romans 5:3-5 NLT