Unmet Expectations

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 How do you deal with your unmet expectations? How do you deal with the times like when the engagement ring never arrives or the pregnancy test doesn’t come back positive? How do handle it when you don’t have the successful career or perfect job? Or what about when you don’t get the accolades of people for your talents or the thankfulness for your service?  Or what about when you are hit with the reality that your children aren’t obedient, well-behaved, tidy, talented, or godly – or all of these things? Or when the doctor’s report collapses our plans for the future? Do you set your goals lower? For example a 20-something year old woman will set her criteria for a man as godly, attractive, good provider, funny, and athletic while a 90-something woman will set her criteria in a man as still breathing. Do you begin to think that you really aren’t all that? Do you fall into discontentment, disappointment, and jealousy? Do you complain? Is your voice bitter? Do you doubt your worth? Do you obsess over it? How do you handle it when life does not turn out like you had hoped?  The mind is the battlefield. Satan knows the value of a captured mind. If he can capture our minds, then he can defeat us. He can’t steal us from God once we are His children. However, he can steal our testimony and steal our worship. He knows that if he can control our thoughts, then he can control our minds. His aim is to infiltrate our minds with his thoughts. Remember, God’s Word says our weapons that we fight with are not of this world (Ephesians 6:12). We just have to out-truth the enemy. Believe God, decree His Word, and act upon the truth of God’s Word. Hebrews 5:14 (AMP) says that God’s Word should be used constantly as a steady, daily diet to shape our minds, senses, and mental faculties. Recently, I had the opportunity to put this battlefield technique into practice. Something happened that day that shocked me, hurt someone I dearly loved, and just didn’t seem fair. Because I was so crushed, it was all I thought about that day at work. I was playing the event over and over in my mind.  Before I went to sleep, I had said 1 Peter 5:7, “Lord, I cast this burden upon You,” but I woke up obsessing about it. I told God, “O Lord, I took it back from You. Gosh, I’m sorry.  Here, take it again. I give it back to You. I can’t handle this weight.” I did this repeatedly through the night and was ashamed that I kept taking back what I had cast to Him. The crushed feeling lasted for a couple of days until I realized this one wasn’t going to go away through praying the Scriptures that I held in my mind. It was time to sharpen that Sword and build a greater armory of weapons.  So I pulled out five laminated Scripture sheets and carried them with me as I drove, set one by the computer to review while it is booting up, and took them with me while I was waiting to pick up the kids. I bombarded my mind with some serious fire power, God’s Word. I read, studied, meditated, and memorized verses. Scriptures of praise filled my mind and overflowed from my mouth. I also prayed. I told God, “You take what the enemy is trying to press me with and hurt my loved one with, and You turn it into a blessing. I trust You to do this, God. Only You can turn our sorrow into dancing.” I was living by Philippians 4:6-8 which tells us not to be anxious about anything but to pray about everything and to take control of our thoughts. We are to not get obsessed and worry about one little thing or one great big thing!  But in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Then God’s Word promises that His peace, which transcends all understanding, will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. Verse 8 tells us to think about “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy. My thoughts are my choice just as your thoughts are your choice.  I consciously chose to change my thought pattern. I couldn’t see it from God’s point of view, but I could trust His point of view was better than mine. He uses all things for His glory. Dear friend, you and I must give God the weight and pick up our weapons. He wants us to be warriors and more than conquerors in Christ. Battles will come our way. If they were easy, then any nonbeliever could do it. They will be tough fights. They will push us to our limit so that we can see God working in us and through us. He has given us everything we need to be victorious. When our expectations are not met and our minds become a battlefield, let’s do what we have been trained to do. Let’s grip our swords and fight! Pray with me: Oh, Dear Heavenly Father, nothing is unexpected to You. Nothing surprises You or blindsides You. You know it all from the beginning. Help us to trust in Your plan for our lives. Teach us to handle it when life doesn’t turn out like what we expected. Help us to give You the weight and to pick up our weapon, the Sword of Truth. It’s in the Name above all names, in Jesus’ Name, Yeshua’s Name, we pray. Amen.

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