Expectations

I read an interesting article about expectations. It got me thinking.
Jordan Peterson is a young man. One could make the point that most of his life is in the expectation column. Me? Not so much. At this point in life I've seen a lot of hopes dashed, plans that failed, schemes that went awry. You would think my advice to the young would be along the lines of an old saying that Peterson quotes, "Expectations are the enemy of contentment," or as I have put it, at least partly in jest, "Lower your expectations and you won't be disappointed as often." The fact is, I don't believe that or recommend it. I see too many young people with no dreams, stunted hope, and terribly limited plans. And, the world is full of cynical oldsters who have decided that they have been burned too often by the white-hot heat of expectation. "Never again," is their motto.

What we need is a way to manage expectations. Clearly, it is foolish to expect the impossible.

Dreaming about spreading my arms and flying like a bird is not productive. If I spend my time dreaming about soaring with the eagles, a reasonable expectation is that I'll end up being food for the buzzards. On the other hand, living life with a view no further than the next step I take on my boring, treadmill existence is a hollow caricature of the life God intends for us to live. Like so many things in life, we need balance concerning our expectations. Let's think about it for the next couple of days.

You can expect more.

It's STTA.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow:

By no stretch of the imagination can one conclude that the Bible is opposed to planning.  The book of Proverbs is full of counsel about the wisdom of having a plan.  We read about the Lord Jesus, that there was a plan written down ahead of time (Hebrews 10:7).  Knowing that helps us make sense of Jesus' determination to go to Jerusalem.  In fact we here Jesus speaking of that whichmust come to pass.  The Apostle Paul's letter are full of plans. Yet, Scripture clearly speaks against being future oriented in a way that detracts from the here and now.  Proverbs 27:1 tells us that we ought not boast in tomorrow, because we don't know what tomorrow holds.  James applies that counsel to some business men, who lived and conducted business as if they could reach out and control the future.  Jesus simply puts it this way, "Do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" (Matthew 6:34). Don't presume on tomorrow's opportunities, and don't wallow in misery that is yet to come.  Wisely make a plan, and live in the only time in which we can live--not the past, nor the future, but now.  "Live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age" (Titus 2:12).  It's STTA.

Working God's Stuff In:

SOMETHING  TO THINK ABOUT

We are talking about God's will in our Sunday Morning Services at Covington Bible Church.   Lord, what is it that You want me to do? That sounds like a good question--something that everyone ought to ask--but I fear some of us ask the question with less than sterling motives.  OK, I'll be honest.  I sometimes ask that question, like a teenager who has been told that he has to clean his room before he can go hang out with his friends.  "What do you want me to do?"  Really means, "What is the least I can get by with?" I want God to give me a list of six things to do today.  That way I can work my six "God-things" in with all the "My-things," and I'll be happy and God will be pleased and all the universe will be as it should be, or so I think.   The fact is, I don't think God is interested in giving three, six, or even a dozen things to do today.  Rather I think He is saying to me: "I know exactly what I have for you today.  Come and walk with me and we'll get it done." "But Lord, if I do that, I won't have any time for my stuff." "Son, I know what you need.  I'll make sure that is part of what we do today." "So, Lord, You want me to . . ." "What I want from you, child, is to trust Me." More Sunday morning from Pastor Doug Williams. It's STTA.   Message 1 in the Series, Proverbs 3:5-6