Scriptures: Proverbs 19:21, Isaiah 55:8-9

Should Expectations Align?

My wife and I experienced the loss of a daughter in May of 2020 and I know from experience it can be difficult to maintain a faith filled walk when our expectations do not align with the reality experienced. 

Still to this day there are moments when the questions of why outpace the assurance that our daughter is in a better place. Reflecting on that pivotal moment of life has taken me all over the place with emotions and perhaps a useful consideration to examine is simply this, “should our expectations align with God’s or not”.

Asking the question in that manner forces us into uncomfortable positions that many, including me, have fought since creation – shouldn’t we know more, or at least as much, as God. Going all the way back to the garden with Adam and Eve we get a first hand glimpse that the allure of knowledge was too much for man to succumb to. If we go to the moment before the bite was taken from the fruit we can clearly see the perfect design that God had created. Up until that moment the alignment of His perfect and pleasing will and man’s were in harmony.

It strikes me that Adam and Eve made an assumption that if they had knowledge they would be equal to God’s understanding and plan for the universe. I suspect that God is teaching us a different lesson which is that the tree of knowledge is insufficient for a well lived life but the ability to be in relationship with God is the basis of the divine design He had in mind from the beginning of creation. Perhaps the question of good and evil is more confusing to that design than it is helpful.

It appears that not only did sin fracture the relationship we had with a loving God but it also introduced a mechanism that the evil one has been using ever since that moment – pride. Wherever pride takes control we are essentially telling God “I got this” or perhaps more accurately said “I don’t need you God”. While that may be more direct than we like to admit it is hard to refute the accuracy.

That underlying sense of pride and control are often the primary emotional drivers regarding our displeasure when expectations are out of alignment with God’s. While so much has changed since Adam and Eve, it is interesting that we are still wrestling with the same internal conflicts of thinking that our desires should be held in the highest regard at all times.

If we concede that our expectations often stem from pride and a desire for control, we must turn to scripture to be reminded that true peace comes from surrendering those expectations to Him alone. Isaiah captures the essence of why our plans often fall short compared to His divine purpose in chapter 55. When we acknowledge that as a salient truth, we can begin to release the weight of unmet expectations, trusting that His ways—though higher and sometimes mysterious—are always good. As we continue this journey of aligning our expectations with His, let us do so with humility, surrender, and the assurance that His purpose will always prevail.

Questions to Consider

1. How do you respond when God’s plan differs from your expectations?
2. What drives your expectations: pride, control, or trust in God’s will?

Scriptures: Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8:29, Exodus 2:11-12

What to Do When They Don’t

Three years ago I was living a life of more moderate ease, living in a quiet subdivision, sitting by a community pool, maintaining a small yard and hiking on the weekends. 

On one of those hikes I mentioned to a friend a passing thought that the idea of owning more land sounded interesting. Shortly later he informed me that a local farm had become available and my first reaction was dismissive, and for good reason. We had no clue how to run a farm and in all reality completely changing our lifestyle from suburbia to farming was not something we were expecting to do.

Yet we were able to watch as God removed hurdle after hurdle in a clearly divine path that led us to green pastures, literally. Items that could have potentially derailed the idea completely were managed with relative ease, and in what felt like a tidal wave of emotions we were full throttle ahead towards a course that we never could expect in a million lifetimes. The gift of hindsight offers the ability to reflect back and for us it further solidifies how even when our expectations are not in alignment with God if we choose to take steps of obedience how He reveals Himself along the way.

It brought up immediate correlations to Moses and how God used him to accomplish incredible things. Most assuredly Moses could have looked back at certain points in his life and feel a sense of awe of how God had moved mightily. On the other hand, consider what would have happened if Moses had not stood up for the abuse he saw that was occurring to the Hebrew by the Egyptian.

Had he chosen to simply ignore the abuse he would have remained in his position of authority as that was a path of prestige and honor. No doubt he would have continued to grow in influence and wealth. Yes it may have been the path that equated to riches and ease, which in many ways would be extremely difficult to turn away from. Yet by taking action it sent him down a course that forever changed his life and consequently the lives of many for generations to come. Quite often our expectations are not realized because we are out of alignment with what God desires and while that can be frustrating it can also be times of momental growth as part of our discipleship journey.

It makes me wonder that during the forty years after his service to Pharoah, when Moses was shepherding for his father-in-law, what were some of the emotions he was having on how God was moving in his life. Perhaps he was mad that what He had expected for his life was so far removed from reality that it created anger and bitterness. Yet we get to see that by going through those experiences he was being positioned to have a radical journey that he never could have imagined.

Reflecting on instances like Moses can help when our expectations seem misaligned with God. Instead of responding with anger, we can redirect our thoughts toward submission. Through this process, we position ourselves to see and hear what He desires most. After all, when our expectations crumble, God’s plan is often just beginning.

Questions to Consider

1. When has God redirected your plans unexpectedly?
2. How do you respond when your expectations don’t align with God’s?

Scriptures: Psalms 37:4-5, 1 Thessalonians 5:18

How to Respond When They Do

Have you ever received an email and the news was so good that you had to read it multiple times? 

That happened when the invitation to come on the Unashamed Podcast showed up in my inbox. I had the wonderful opportunity to meet and interview Al Robertson a few times and vividly remember telling my wife that going on their show would be a dream come true. In fact there were prayers sent to God directly for that to happen.

As an admirer of their work, the chance to sit with Al and Phil, to read and discuss God’s Word was a dream yet it never seemed in reach. Until the email arrived asking if a given date for recording would work for our schedule. I asked my wife to come into the studio and stood by anxiously while she read the note and her next words were “I guess you’re going to Louisiana”. Just when we thought it couldn’t get better Al called and wanted to see if arriving early was possible to meet the entire family and basically spend a day recording with them in the studio.

It was an experience that will last with me forever and it showed me an area of my life that needed attention – praise. As a driven individual I often found myself moving from item to item and doing so there was almost zero time purposely focused on praising God for how He was moving in my life. It was literally a standard operating procedure to get what I want and move to the next thing on the list. This blessing was too big to ignore and it caused me to intentionally slow down and praise Him like never before.

That led to other thinking that is worth exploring, should God only be praised when He comes through with the monumental things in life or more plainly said, when He does what I want Him to do. While that sounds harsh, it does ring true doesn’t it. I send up flare prayers all the time with requests on what is needed for a given situation and yet everyday He continually comes through time and time again without focused intentionality of gratitude on my behalf. The problem I’ve experienced is that sending up flare praise is not as natural a response and is something that takes focused effort.

Throughout my discipleship journey, I’ve learned that by remembering to thank Him for the seemingly small things, it is easier to see His hand in everything. It is incredibly easy to forget to offer Him praise when we’re on the mountain top as our tendency is to look down from that purview. However, keeping a mindset of continual praise is a great way to honor and glorify Him at all times – especially when our expectations and His align beautifully.

Questions to Consider

1. What small blessings have you overlooked in daily life?
2. How do you respond when God answers your prayers?

Scriptures: Ephesians 3:20, Philippians 1:6

The Bigger Purpose

Working through this study has been challenging and it left me with the underlying question of what does God expect of me? 

Considering my expectations of Him hopefully was helpful in your own discipleship journey yet at the end of the day we all face the reality of what God is calling us to fulfill.

Personally it was that moment when He clearly was calling me to create The Lion Within Us. For the longest time the idea was suppressed as immediate thoughts of inadequacy, doubt and condemnation began to sprout. The reality was I was equating God’s expectations with my qualifications and that was the error in my logic. I found, and perhaps you have experienced this as well, that God doesn’t call the qualified–He qualifies the called. He wanted my heart focused on obedience above everything else and from there the adventure began.

There have been and continue to be hurdles that have to be navigated daily and yet the resolve He has placed cannot be extinguished. It took reaching a point of surrender to completely transform everything. The fact that you are reading this is proof enough that God can and does use seemingly the most unqualified vessels to accomplish His work.

My simple encouragement to you is to take the time to be still with God and ask Him what He expects for you in the season of life you are in. You may find that He is calling you to be a prayer warrior for others, or perhaps He desires service, or for certain individuals perhaps He is placing a call on your life for ministry. The reality is that in order to hear what He desires we must slow down and ask. Remember that rarely is this a one and done process but rather something that takes time and effort.

No matter what He is calling you to, trust that His expectations are never dependent on your strength alone but on His ability to work through you. Be willing to take the first step, even when you feel unprepared, and watch how God shows up. The journey may not always be easy, but it will be worth it—because obedience to His call is where divine alignment of expectations happens. Now that’s how you unleash the Lion Within!

Questions to Consider

1. How can you slow down to hear God’s direction?
2. What first step can you take toward His calling today?