Biblical Success - 5 Hurdles in the Path of Our RaceSample

Hurdle #2 - Expectations

So, life is a little tough right now? Well, Christian, what did you expect? Expectations are super important things. 

So much of our attitude towards life in general, and how we feel about our lives as Christ followers, is based on how things are versus our expectation of how they should be. 

Our contemporary church culture has been impacted by shades of a gospel that leads us to believe that, once we become Christians, Jesus will reward us with a life free of problems or disease, filled with success, and an answer to our every prayer. (Actually He does answer every prayer with “Yes, I’m glad you asked”, or “No, not yet,” or “No, never.”) 

If we have been taught to simply believe that He will give us the desires of our hearts but never that our hearts are desperately wicked and deceitful, and that it is only our prayer that is in the will of the Father that He will answer, we can develop deep frustration and even anger toward God. 

Our expectations must be based on the whole counsel of God, including sacrifice, struggle, and suffering. Jesus is our Hero and model; not Bill Gates. His life was anything but trouble and problem free. But, and this a BIG but, He lived on earth with His eye on heaven. 

Our lives, like His, are a series of events and relationships that are a mix of disappointments and thrilling joys with times of peace and boredom in between. Clearing the hurdle of unrealistic expectations as a Christian is a really big deal. So, fellow runners, what do you expect?