We have heard it preached many times and in many different ways, Christians should always come to God with expectation. Believing that He will move in our situation. This topic is often spoken of for the sheer fact that we can trust and believe that God will always do what He said He would do. So because His word says He will heal, deliver, provide for, care for, and do so much more for His people we can come to Him with expectation. Believing He will do those very things, but there are also problems that can arise from coming to God with expectation.
You see many of us have a tendency to not simply expect something but to completely build it up in our heads. Coming up with how we think something will or even how we think something should go. I must admit that I am definitely guilty of this in almost every aspect of life. For instance, my wife can say she got me a surprise while out and if not careful I can build it up way too much in my mind. Ruining a sweet gesture by not simply expecting something but forming an idea in my mind of what it is and expecting exactly that.
When it comes to an example of this from scripture no one better fills the role than the Syrian army commander Naaman. He was dying of leprosy but heard of a man of God who was said to be able to heal people. So he quickly went out searching for the prophet.
2 Kings 5:3–5 (ESV)
3 She said to her mistress, “Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” 4 So Naaman went in and told his lord, “Thus and so spoke the girl from the land of Israel.” 5 And the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.”
Along the way, Naaman full of expectation began thinking of how he would be healed. He had it all mapped out in his mind. The man of God would come out, call upon the name of the Lord, wave his hand over the leprosy, and he would be healed. However, his expectation did not match reality as Elisha sent a messenger who simply instructed Naaman to wash seven times in the Jordan River to be healed. Because his expectations were not meet Naaman become very upset. To the point of just turning around and returning home.
2 Kings 5:9–12 (ESV)
9 So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.” 11 But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, “Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.
Naaman did the right thing by believing God would heal him through the prophet. However, he messed up by not sticking with simple expectations. Instead, he began to think of how it should work out but God rarely works in ways we can fully understand. Thankfully there was a voice in Naaman’s life that encouraged him to do as the prophet said. So he chooses to trust in what the man of God said even though it wasn’t what he expected and he was healed. I hope this article can be that voice that helps you to trust what God has done or said in your life that didn’t quite match your expectations.
2 Kings 5:13–14 (ESV)
13 But his servants came near and said to him, “My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” 14 So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
As I have said previously it is good to come to God with expectation. Believing that He will do the very things His word says He will do. But it is important to be careful. We can easily fall into the same trap as Naaman. Leaving simply expecting behind and looking instead for something specific. Which can in turn cause us to miss or even turn our back on what God is trying to do. All because it did not happen how we thought it would.
It’s for this very reason that so many people believe their prayers go unanswered. You see often times when we pray we begin to come up with ideas of how the prayer will be answered. Those ideas then become our expectations and when those are not meet we believe God didn’t answer our prayer.
For instance, someone who recently got laid off may pray for a job. Over time they may begin to expect God will provide them a certain job. If instead, God provides a different job then they are expecting that will be better for them in the long run they won’t be able to see it. Then they will view their prayer as going unanswered. Certain individuals may even not take that job due to their higher expectations and completely miss out on the blessing God is trying to provide them.
The truth is that we can come to God with too much expectation. Expecting specific things instead of simply trusting God to do what’s best in our situation. Which can, in turn, cause us to miss a blessing and over time even question if God hears our prayers. So it’s important that we keep our expectations in check. God is able to see how everything will play out for many years to come and makes His decisions accordingly. Know and trust that He is working all things for your good even if it doesn’t match your expectations.
Romans 8:28 (ESV)
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose
So come to God with the right level of expectation in the future. Believe that He will move in your life in the best way for you and leave it there. Don’t think up a specific answer in your mind and only look for that. The way God answers prayers will more often than not be different than what we expected. So simply come to God with faith trusting He will do what’s best for you according to His word.
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