As I write these various blog entries, I hope and pray that you remember that I don't toss these out to others as though I'm doing them perfectly, and expecting everyone else to get on board. Rather, these are quite often my way of thinking out loud, and even expressing some of the challenges that I find myself personally facing as I engage what God tells us about Himself and about our lives and how He designed us to live. So there's no 'holier than thou' thing going on here, but instead, a confused guy simply asking the questions, knowing that they probably affect others just like they affect him.
So with that said, let me present today's question. What do you expect from God on a daily basis? I have to admit, this is one of those questions that isn't really that easy to answer. There's the easy answer of, "well, God gives me everything I need each day, grace and love as well as the physical necessities of life, so I expect everything from Him." At the same time, though, we could look at how we go about our daily lives and discover that we may say that, but our lives might betray that we look an awful lot to ourselves to provide and take care of the things we need.
I realize that this really can be one of those questions that more easily condemns than encourages. And that's why I think Paul had some profound wisdom in Ephesians 3:20-21. God can, and does, far more than what we ask or think. God is doing things that we cannot even fathom, much less see and give Him credit for. We don't see everything that God protects us from. We don't see God's hand working to provide everything we need in life. We don't see God's hand in nurturing our lives, our families, and the like. And yet, there is God, doing it all, even if we aren't expecting it.
At the same time, it also seems that God is truly waiting to do even more. Imagine if your father wanted to give you a million dollar inheritance, and yet, all you asked for was enough to fill your car with gas. You're barely scratching the surface on what He wants to give, and you're settling for far less than what He wants to give. I do believe that we sometimes have that kind of expectation of God. We expect to have an okay marriage, when God is waiting to make it a dynamic, outstanding marriage. We expect to have an okay gathering of believers, while God is waiting to make it a place where His grace and forgiveness flow into the lives of many. In other words, we so often seem to be the ones shortchanging God in our expectations, not Him shortchanging us in what He provides.
So what do you expect? What can you expect God to do in a greater way than what you have expected before? How will your eyes be opened to see how God is doing far more than what you think or ask?
So with that said, let me present today's question. What do you expect from God on a daily basis? I have to admit, this is one of those questions that isn't really that easy to answer. There's the easy answer of, "well, God gives me everything I need each day, grace and love as well as the physical necessities of life, so I expect everything from Him." At the same time, though, we could look at how we go about our daily lives and discover that we may say that, but our lives might betray that we look an awful lot to ourselves to provide and take care of the things we need.
I realize that this really can be one of those questions that more easily condemns than encourages. And that's why I think Paul had some profound wisdom in Ephesians 3:20-21. God can, and does, far more than what we ask or think. God is doing things that we cannot even fathom, much less see and give Him credit for. We don't see everything that God protects us from. We don't see God's hand working to provide everything we need in life. We don't see God's hand in nurturing our lives, our families, and the like. And yet, there is God, doing it all, even if we aren't expecting it.
At the same time, it also seems that God is truly waiting to do even more. Imagine if your father wanted to give you a million dollar inheritance, and yet, all you asked for was enough to fill your car with gas. You're barely scratching the surface on what He wants to give, and you're settling for far less than what He wants to give. I do believe that we sometimes have that kind of expectation of God. We expect to have an okay marriage, when God is waiting to make it a dynamic, outstanding marriage. We expect to have an okay gathering of believers, while God is waiting to make it a place where His grace and forgiveness flow into the lives of many. In other words, we so often seem to be the ones shortchanging God in our expectations, not Him shortchanging us in what He provides.
So what do you expect? What can you expect God to do in a greater way than what you have expected before? How will your eyes be opened to see how God is doing far more than what you think or ask?
I ask GOD for a lot each day. I ask for many things. Health for me and my love ones. Protection. Blessings. Love. I ask for HIS gentle spirit to lead me in the right path and keep me and my love ones safe, and to protect us from trouble (Psalm 143: 10, 11). I ask that HE will take care of me and my love ones (Psalm 27: 10).
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