Expectations
EXPECTATIONS
In a conversation the other day, I overheard someone talking about how their parents were working on “finding their path” while they were raising their son, and he was angry because he disagreed with the things they did. Now hearing this from a distance gave me a very non-biased position as I had zero attachment or emotion to this person or their story; therefore, I was able to see something that I thought I would share with you.
As I thought about what he said, I realized he had expectations placed on his parents they obviously didn’t meet. I also realized that this is a common perspective all of us humans have.
What if, instead, we take a moment to look at this from a different viewpoint?
(Before we go there, let me clarify I am not speaking of parents who have harmed their children! This is about exceptions to others, not about abuse. That is a whole other topic.
You see, my parents, your parents, and his parents all have one thing in common. When they were raising us, they were on “their” path. What do I mean? From the age that we begin making our own decisions and taking steps in our own direction without asking permission from our parents, we begin walking “OUR” path.
This is a path that we and only we can walk for ourselves. No one else can walk it for us. If we blow it, it’s on us. If we succeed, it’s on us. Now, if, during this journey, we add a spouse who walks beside us on their path, we are still stepping down “OUR” lane. If we add children, it is still “our” path we are walking. What happens in life is that somewhere along the way, expectations begin to develop.
We expect others to see it our way; they expect us to see it their way. We expect others to think our way; they expect us to think their way. We expect others to carry our weight; they expect us to carry theirs. We expect others to speak or respond a certain way, and they expect that of us. We expect others to think a certain way, and they, annoyed as they are, expect the same!
See where I am going with this. If we picture life as a path that each of us gets to walk on, individually, specifically, and personally designed for us and only us, without any room for someone else to walk on it, then there is no place for unreasonable expectations to be placed on someone else. They don’t fit on my path, and I don’t fit on theirs. We just get to walk side by side.
Why am I even sharing this? The young man I overheard speaking didn’t respect that his parents were walking on “their” path and learning the things they needed to learn in life. He was angry because they were not doing what he wanted them to do.
Have you ever heard a child say…”Well, when I’m a parent, I won’t do this to my kids.”?
Great! Don’t!
Because when you are a parent, it’s your path to walk, baby! The young man I was listening to now gets to walk on his own path, and he can choose to let go of the unreasonable expectations that he placed on his parents, and now he can let go of his disappointments too, if he chooses.
Disappointment in life is a reality, but most of the disappointment comes from my own unrealistic expectations that I have placed on top of the shoulders of another human who has their own walk to walk and does not owe me a thing!
Our Heavenly Father sees life from a much higher vantage point.
He is very aware that we have this characteristic in us that needs to put exceptions out there. So, He gives direction on where and how to place expectations.
Psalms 62:5
My soul, wait thou only upon God; For my expectation is from him.
The word expectation is the Hebrew word tiqva. It is translated as hope, expectation, and expectancy. There is only One Shoulder strong enough to carry my exceptions, and that shoulder belongs to my Heavenly Father.
Psalm 71:5
For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: Thou art my trust from my youth.
The word hope is our word tiqva. He is our exception.
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
He is where my expectations go, and He is where my expectations can come from.
In her book Fight Girl, Fight Rev. Shirley Weidenhammer states,
“I am reminded that I can listen to God with an attitude of expectancy. And so can you. I think about heros from biblical times Esther, Abigail, Ruth and Mary to name a few. These were women who believed God to carry out a heavenly vision in their day and age
Jeremiah 33:3
Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
God longs for us to raise our thoughts in His direction. Place our expectations on Him. Time and time again, I have personally heard God speak, “I will never forsake you.” and He also states it throughout His Word. Deuteronomy 31:6 states to too. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Psalms 37:34
Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.
The word WAIT in these verses can also be translated as – expect.
Put your expectations on Him; He will not disappoint.
Psalms 27:14
Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.
Psalms 25:3
Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause.
I have a family member who became very frustrated with me after I moved to Amarillo, which is close to her. She had a lot of ideas for things we would do together. Great ideas, but when I moved here, I was transitioning to a new life, and I had my own “things” I needed to work on for a bit. Several times she would get frustrated with me to the point of anger. I realized one day, “She has expectations of me that I am not meeting.”
When I tried to have a conversation about this, it did not go well. As I drove away, I was frustrated and angry until I realized, “Um, Kalyn, you had expectations of her!”
I expected the conversation to go one way, and when it did not, I was mad at her, expecting her to respond the way I thought she should. See where I’m going with this?
Expectations do not fit on the shoulders of people; only our Dad’s Shoulders can carry those.
When the scripture says to cast your care on Him because He cares for me, I am to cast those unreasonable and even reasonable expectations onto Him. He sees from a much better vantage point, and He has it all covered.
Here are the only 2 expectations I have for others:
It is God at work within them
All things work together for those who love Him.
That’s it!!
To close I want to read something I posted recently:
“Don’t take anything people say or do personally; this is simply a projection of WHAT IS GOING ON INSIDE OF THEM.
Remember, “Out of the mouth the heart speaks”.
This is how we turn dark into light in our life. Light Shines bright and heals those in its path. The greatest way to change the world is to change yourself.”
Shine Bright, my friend!
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The New Birth is the most wonderful Miracle to begin with! Romans 10:9-10 shows us how to receive the new birth.
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
This begins the first Miracle for you. NOW, you have unlimited resources available to you.
You now have the holy spirit inside of you, coursing through your veins and behind every fiber of your being.
You have access to all nine of the manifestations of holy spirit. 1 Corinthians 12
You are seated in the heavenlies. Ephesians 2:6
You have Christ in You, the hope of glory! Colossians 1:27
You have direct access with God! Ephesians 2:18
Let’s walk this journey together! God has called you for Such A Time As This!
1. We believe in one God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – Creator of all things. (Ephesians 4:4-6)
2.We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of Mary, crucified, died, was buried, resurrected, ascended into heaven, and is now seated at the right hand of the true God and Father. (John 3:16)
3. We believe the Bible in its entirety to be the absolute inspired Word of God and the infallible rule of faith and conduct. It’s a spiritual book, written by The Spirit for the spirit. (II Timothy 2:15)
4. We believe in the future return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. ( I Thessalonians 4:13-18)
5. We believe in the personal salvation of Believers by believing in the heart and confessing with the mouth that Jesus is Lord. (“Romans 10:9 and 10.”)
6. We believe in sanctification, redemption, justification, and ministry of reconciliation and righteousness as sonship rights given at the time of the new birth through the Word of God and by the Holy Spirit.
7. We believe in divine healing, through faith in the Name of Jesus Christ, via the shed blood and broken body, and that healing is included in the redemption and available at any time during life.
8.We believe in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit as outlined in Romans 10:9-10. We believe that every born-again person has the ability to operate all nine of the manifestations of the holy spirit. Also, we believe in the evidence of the fruit of the Spirit. (Ephesians 4:7)
9. We believe in the Christian commission (Matthew 28:19) by speaking boldly, tenderly, and lovingly to all of humanity.
10. We believe in the forgiveness of sins as outlined in scripture by confessing our sins to our Heavenly Father, God and that forgiveness is given at that moment. (1 John 1:9)
11. We believe the thief, the devil, comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy and credit any of these actions as belonging to him. In complete contrast, we believe that Jesus came so that we might have life {Zoe – life in all of its fullness} and have it more abundantly. He gets credit for this abundance in life. (John 10:10)
12. We believe that God desires greatly to work in us to will and to do of His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13)
N.O.W – No Ordinary Woman
No Ordinary Woman.
N.O.W.—Woman, God created you to be more than ordinary.
He created you to be Extra-Ordinary.
When you received His gift of Holy Spirit you were no longer just a body and a soul, you became a three-part being of Body-Soul-Spirit; complete, a perfect work through the miracle of the New Birth!
This is our movement, daughter of God, to stand out from the crowd: to boldly proclaim I am His and He is mine. To see signs follow you, to see miracles performed through you, to be His Wonder! To rely only upon your God. To expect only from Him. To be independently dependent on Him alone. He is enough for you.
We are His masterpieces and we radiate with His divine love everywhere we go. You were created to live in this day-time-hour. Created for such a time as this and together we will move mountains!
In Him We Live exists so that women who love God can know and believe that they were born for such a time as NOW.
Our Code
1. Jesus is the center and the Head of The Body. It’s All About Following His Directive (Colossians 1:18)
2. We believe big and take action. It’s all about activated faith All About Activated Faith (James 2:14-26)
3. We honor one another to glorify God. It’s allAll About the Romans 12 Experience
4. We are Lovers, not Haters. It’s All About loving on others (Mark 12:31)
5. We think in Color. It’s All About how God inspires us by working in us to will and to do of His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13)
6. We don’t back down. It’s All About submitting to God and watching the Devil flee in terror (James 4:7)
7. We stand approved before God. It’s All About knowing scripture and how to apply (2 Timothy 2:15)
8. We choose our thoughts. It’s All About knowing which thought to lead captive to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5)
9. We will express gratitude. It’s All About keeping a thankful heart (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
10. We move from a place of power. It’s All About using the right tools afforded us through Jesus Christ, His Father, The Holy Spirit, and The Bible. (Ephesians 6:10-18)
11. We speak to our mountains (ALL OF THEM). It’s All About the power of our words (Mark 11:23)