Expectations

²⁰ as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. (Philippians 1:20)

            There are many times in our lives when we have expectations. These could be about meeting or interacting with certain people. The expectations could be about an upcoming event. During these times, we could be filled with excitement or dread.

            But what happens when things just do not meet those expectations? Currently, there are many, many college football teams that would love to be invited to the Bowl Game Alabama will be playing. It is an honor to be selected to go to one of the BCS games. But Alabama had different expectations for their season. They were focused on a National Championship Game. Though what they are experiencing would be considered outstanding by most, they are sorely disappointed.

            How do we handle these same disappointments? Our office Christmas party is a bomb…our family gathering is poorly attended…no one remembers our birthday that falls way too close to Christmas…our kids don’t make it home for the holidays this year…how do we handle those times?

            Often when we are disappointed, it becomes harder to honor Christ in thought and deed. Our focus strays from the main purpose of our lives which is to bring glory to God. We get “blue” and do not want to participate in the rest of the holiday cheer.

            Paul had many reasons to be “blue” or even down-right depressed. Over the course of his ministry, it may even seem more things went wrong than right. There were shipwrecks, beatings, snakebites, persecutions, imprisonments…the list goes on and on. I am not sure exactly what his expectations were for being an apostle and an ambassador for Christ, but I think they were all under-whelmed. It turned out like nothing he would have imagined; yet, he found joy in all of it. He found joy in spite of the disappointing expectations.

            As the year comes to a close and we look back on what might have been, I encourage you to look ahead and stay focused on what is truly important – Christ. He will never “under-whelm” or fail to meet our expectations. When we keep Him in our sight, the rest will pale in comparison…