Our Expectations from God
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Jeremiah 29:11
Have you ever sat down and given serious thought of what you expect from God? Maybe you expect God to take care of your worldly needs, to answer your prayers, to protect you from harm, or to keep you healthy and happy. Can we determine our expectations from God by the subject of our prayers? We will attempt to look at what we can expect as seen from God’s perspective.
We will start by determining what is important to God in terms of our life. To begin we recognize that God is spiritual, living in heaven and his most important desire is to bring us through life into heaven with him. Our flesh remains on the earth, it came from the earth and goes back to the earth. Our soul, (mind and thoughts), and our new eternal body are spiritual, and destined to live with God in heaven. Therefore, God’s main concern is caring for our eternal soul and not our temporal flesh. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. (Matthew 10:28). However he does promise to take care of our physical needs because our body is a temple and we need it to minister in this world.
God has a plan for each person he created, and Christians who serve the Lord will reap the blessing of a full life, living as God created them to live. When we live for Christ, following the Holy Spirit, we are led to minister to lost souls. This changes our prayer to seeking the Lord’s help in ministering to others, for specific spiritual and physical needs for those we minister. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33).
This is “seeking first his kingdom and righteousness,” and now the Lord provides for our needs, and answers our prayers because we are his servants. Remember the Lord answers our prayers his way and in his time. Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom, (Isaiah 40:28).
To understand the expectations from God requires that we live by faith, because we cannot fully understand his thoughts and his ways this side of eternity. If live by faith, serving the Lord as his servant giving him control, we will experience the blessing of God, both physical and spiritual. From my experience the spiritual blessings are greater blessings than the physical blessing. The spiritual blessings, fills our heart with love, peace, joy, confidence, strength, and wisdom, all from God. And the Lord promises to provide for our daily needs when we put him first in our lives.
Today, focus on serving the Lord. Pray for your worldly needs and spiritual needs in serving others, and know God is going to answer is his perfect way and time. Pray and trust the Lord by leaving the answer in his loving hands. The Lord has a better solution to our prayer than we can imagine, and he is always molding us to be more like Christ as we go through ups and downs in life. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28). This verse is true for those who serve the Lord with a heart of love, and this verse tells us that everything in our life God will work for our good. Always for our spiritual growth and includes our daily needs.
Prayer: Lord, let my expectations focus first on serving you, by ministering to lost souls. I cannot minister to others without guidance from the Spirit, and I pray for your help in guiding my heart, my word, and my actions. Thank you for giving me what I need, and not what I think I need. In Jesus name, Amen