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Rise and Manage Your Expectations 

What's your expectation while you're in this challenge? Do you have high expectations that you will suddenly transform your body into a daily workout machine? Or maybe you have meager expectations and think that you're not going to be successful and probably lose steam after a few days.

There's an expression that says, 'You get what you expect.' Put another way, your level of expectation will determine your success.

But what if you've traditionally had low expectations? Or unrealistic expectations?

The secret to meeting your exceptions is to spend time with God and let Him set the expectation based on His best for you. Line up your expectations with Scripture from the Bible instead of what you think will or will not happen.

In the Bible, John the Baptist also had unrealistic expectations about what Jesus would be. He preached about Jesus' kingdom coming with power and justice. But instead, Jesus preached about love and acts of mercy. John even sent messengers to ask Jesus, "Are you the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?" Matthew 11:3.

Jesus' response was to challenge John the Baptist's expectations and encourage him to base it on the Word of God instead of who he thought Jesus would be. "And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me." Matthew 11:6.

Like John, are you holding on to expectations about how you think this journey should be? Or maybe you have certain beliefs about how God should be working in your life. Perhaps you want Him to give you more motivation or remove some things from your life so you could have more time.

And what about the man at the pool? He expected that someone would help him into the pool, and that unfulfilled expectation left him in a state of helplessness and despair. It's easy to feel that way when we hold on to our expectations without letting the Holy Spirit lead us.

Remember, we can't see the entire picture, and we most certainly will never be able to comprehend the mind of God. We do know that His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:8), and that's why we must let go of our expectations and trust Him for our outcome.

Yes, it's good to have dreams, goals, visions, and expectations, but let go of how you think you will get there. Don't be so attached to the outcome or how the journey should look. Hold loosely to the picture. You don't know how God will show up, but you can be sure that He always will.

Reflect

1. John the Baptist recognized Jesus as the Messiah, but his expectations about what Jesus should do were misguided. Do you have expectations about how and what the Lord should and should not do to deliver you from your strongholds?

2. What beliefs do you have about how the Lord 'should' be working in your life? Surrender them to Him today and trust that His ways are best.

3. Are there some expectations that you need to grieve and let go of possibly? Maybe you thought you would have achieved your goal by now. Or by 40, 50, or 60, you would have done 'X.' Whatever those unfulfilled expectations are, give them to God by accepting, acknowledging, and standing in a new possibility. Review this lesson if necessary: Understanding the Process of Letting God.

Worship and Prayer

"Father God, I surrender my will and my ways to you. Your thoughts are higher than my thoughts, and your ways are higher than my ways. Keep me mindful of that when I forget. I love you, Lord, and give you all my expectations and desires. Continue to line up my expectations with yours and then help me to develop habits that match those expectations. I surrender it all to you. Amen!" 

I pray this devotional has been a blessing for you. Find the complete 28-day Healthy by Design: Get Active, God's Way devotional book, along with my other Christian weight loss books and resources at: https://cathymorenzie.com/books