March 26, 2026 • 28 mins
What happens when we praise Jesus on Sunday… but feel confused by Monday?
In this Holy Week episode of Divine Shenanigans, we’re talking about the tension of Palm Sunday through John 12:12–19 and the hard truth that the same crowd shouting “Hosanna!” later shouted “Crucify Him!” Oof. Humans stay human.
This episode explores what happens when Jesus doesn’t meet our expectations, when faith feels shaky because God doesn’t “win” the way we thought He would, and why so many people wanted a political savior instead of a suffering one. We’re getting honest about disappointment with Jesus, unmet expectations, and the temptation to walk away when following Him gets uncomfortable.
We’ll talk about how faith shifts when God’s plan looks slower, quieter, and harder than we imagined, and how Holy Week invites us into a deeper kind of trust — one that stays even when the parade ends and the road turns toward the cross.
This episode includes a personal story, community reflections, Scripture, practical life application, Holy Homework, a closing prayer, and this week’s Song of the Week: Hosanna on Monday.
If you’ve ever loved Jesus deeply but struggled when life didn’t go the way you hoped, this episode is for you.
Scripture: John 12:12–19
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
It's divide Chanel.
It's sanctified clear.
With print on the mic and truthin her hands.
She's breaking down the bubblewith laughter and a plant.
It's divine.
(00:21):
Oh, it's divine shenanigans.
SPEAKER_02 (00:28):
Hey y'all, welcome back to Divine Shenanigans,
where we are learning, laughing,loving Jesus, and trying not to
spiral when Jesus doesn't followour very well thought out plans.
I am so glad you're here.
Today's episode is calledHosanna Until It Gets Hard.
And man, this one is honest.
(00:50):
Because Palm Sunday is beautifuluntil it isn't.
It's loud, it's hopeful.
It's full of praise andexpectation.
But it's also the beginning of aweek where everything shifts.
The same crowd that shoutedHosanna later shouted Crucify
Him.
And today we're gonna talk aboutwhat happens when God doesn't
(01:12):
meet our expectations,disappointment with Jesus, why
we often want a powerful Saviorinstead of a suffering one, and
how to stay in faith when theroad gets hard.
We'll talk about Scripture, reallife, holy homework, and our
song of the week, Hosanna onMonday.
So let's get into this.
(01:33):
Let's slow it down for just aminute, because Palm Sunday is
one of the most emotionallylayered moments in Scripture.
On the surface, it looks likecelebration, it looks like
victory, excitement, movement,hope finally showing up.
And it feels like the momenteverything is about to change.
(01:54):
The crowd hears Jesus is comingto Jerusalem and they don't just
casually show up.
They run out to meet him.
They grabbed branches, whichweren't just decorative, by the
way, they were symbols ofvictory.
This is like waving flags aftera war has been won.
This is like saying the king ishere, the battle is over, this
(02:18):
is the moment.
And they start shouting Hosanna,which means save us now.
Not eventually, not spiritually,not metaphorically.
Now.
That word carries urgency,desperation, expectation.
So this isn't just praise.
This is a demand wrapped inworship.
(02:40):
This is we believe you can saveus, and we expect you to do it
in the way we need.
And here's where the tensionstarts tightening.
Because while the crowd iscelebrating a victory they think
is about to happen, Jesus iswalking into a completely
different kind of moment.
They see a throne, he sees across.
(03:02):
They see takeover, he seessurrender, they see immediate
change, he sees necessarysacrifice, and those two visions
do not match.
The crowd wasn't wrong about whoJesus was.
They were wrong about what hecame to do.
They were expecting politicalfreedom, national restoration,
(03:27):
visible power, immediateresults.
But Jesus came for somethingdeeper.
He came to deal with sin,brokenness, the human heart,
eternity.
And here's what makes thismoment so powerful.
Both things matter.
Their pain was real, theiroppression was real, their
(03:49):
longing for change was real.
But their understanding of howGod would bring that change,
that's where things started tounravel.
Now let's talk about the detailwe tend to skip over too
quickly.
Jesus rides in on a donkey, andI need us to sit with that
because that is not random.
(04:09):
If Jesus wanted to match theirexpectations, he had options.
He could have came in strong, hecould have made a statement, he
could have looked powerful in away people recognize power, but
instead a donkey?
Which was a symbol of humility,peace, servanthood, not war, not
(04:31):
dominance, not politicaluprising.
So while the crowd is shoutingtake over, Jesus is quietly
saying, I came to lay my lifedown.
And that right there, that isthe tension.
Palm Sunday is the gap betweenwhat people thought Jesus would
(04:53):
do and what he actually came todo.
And that gap, it's uncomfortablebecause expectation feels
exciting, but reality requiressurrender.
Expectation says this is aboutto go my way.
Reality says this is about to goGod's way.
(05:14):
And those are not always thesame thing.
Now let's bring this into ourlives, because it's not just
their story.
This is ours.
We do this all the time.
We don't just follow Jesus, webuild expectations around him.
We say God, I trust you.
But underneath that is, to fixthis situation, to heal this
(05:39):
relationship, to open this door,to make this make sense, to give
me the outcome I've been prayingfor.
And when it starts looking likethat's happening, we get
excited.
We start our own version of PalmSunday.
We're like, yes, God is moving,this is it, breakthrough is
(06:00):
here.
We are spiritually waving palmbranches.
But then Monday comes.
Because Palm Sunday energydoesn't last forever.
Eventually, Jesus starts movingin ways that don't match
expectations.
And now we're confused.
Now we're asking, wait, why isthis taking longer?
(06:22):
Why does this feel harder?
Why isn't this going the way Ithought?
Why does this look like lossinstead of victory?
And this is where faith getstested.
Because it's easy to trust Godwhen it looks like he's doing
what you wanted.
But what about when he isn't?
Palm Sunday is not just aboutwhat the crowd said.
(06:45):
It's about what happens insideus when expectations don't match
reality.
Because there's a moment, andyou may have felt this before,
where your heart quietly shiftsfrom God I trust you to God, I
don't understand you.
And if we're not careful, thatcan become God, I'm not sure I
(07:08):
trust you anymore.
That shift doesn't happenloudly, it happens slowly,
suddenly, internally.
It's not always dramatic.
Sometimes it's just distance.
A little less prayer, a littlemore doubt, a little more
hesitation, a little moreemotional pullback.
(07:28):
So this is where the crowdchanged.
Because when Jesus didn't meetexpectations, the crowd didn't
all leave immediately, but theirenthusiasm faded.
Their certainty weakened, theirexpectations cracked, and
eventually their disappointmentturned into rejection.
(07:50):
And here is the hard truth.
If our faith is built on Jesuswill do what I expect, then our
faith will struggle when hedoesn't.
But if our faith is built onJesus is who he says he is, then
even when we don't understand,we can still stay.
(08:10):
Because let's be honest, some ofus love Jesus like, Lord, I
surrender everything to you, aslong as you circle back with me
before making any majordecisions.
Like, God, I trust your plan,but I would also like to review
it, approve it, and possiblysuggest edits.
And Jesus is like, yeah, yeah,that's not how this works.
(08:32):
Alright, bringing it back toPalm Sunday, because it's
beautiful, but it's alsouncomfortable.
Because it forces us to ask, doI love Jesus for who he is or
for what I think he will do forme?
Do I trust him when the outcomelooks like victory?
And also when it looks like thebeginning of a cross?
(08:54):
Because the same Jesus who waspraised on Sunday is still the
same Jesus walking towardFriday.
And if we want real faith, wehave to follow him through both.
And that's where we're goingnext, because once expectations
start breaking, that's whendisappointment shows up.
And we need to talk about that.
(09:16):
I have had seasons where I wasconvinced God was about to come
through in a very specific way.
Like this is it, this is thebreakthrough.
This is where everything makessense.
And then it didn't happen.
Or it happened completelydifferent.
And suddenly I wasn'tquestioning God's existence.
(09:38):
I was questioning his strategy.
Like, Lord, respectfully, whatare you doing?
I thought if God was with me, itwould look like winning, but
instead, it looked like waiting,restraint, confusion, obedience
without results.
And that's when I realized Ididn't just trust God.
(10:02):
I trusted my version of how Godshould work.
And those are not the samething.
In John twelve, twelve throughnineteen, Palm Sunday tells us
the crowd hears Jesus is coming.
They grab palm branches, theyshout, Hosanna, blessed is he
who comes in the name of theLord.
And Jesus rides in on a donkey.
(10:25):
Not a war horse, not a throne,not a show of force, a donkey.
That was intentional, becauseJesus is saying I am king, but
not the kind of king youexpected.
They wanted political rescue,visible power, immediate
victory, and Jesus came to bringspiritual salvation, heart
(10:47):
transformation, eternal victory.
They wanted Rome gone.
Jesus came to defeat sin.
And when those didn't match,disappointment started growing.
Let's talk about that crowd fora minute, because it's easy to
read this story and think, wow,how did they miss it?
But if we're honest, we mightnot have done anything
(11:10):
different.
The crowd wasn't lazy, theyweren't blind, they weren't
irrational, they weren't evenentirely wrong.
They knew Jesus was powerful,they had seen miracles, they had
heard the teaching.
Some of them had watched Lazaruswalk out of the tomb.
So when they shouted Hosanna,blessed is he who comes in the
(11:33):
name of the Lord, they meant it.
But here's the problem.
They were right about who Jesuswas, but wrong about what he
came to do.
And that distinction mattersmore than we realize.
The people were living underRoman oppression.
They were tired, frustrated,waiting.
(11:54):
They wanted freedom, justice,relief, restoration.
They wanted a king who wouldoverthrow Rome, take power, fix
the system, and make their livesbetter immediately.
They wanted visible victory.
They wanted a Savior who wouldstep in and say enough is
(12:15):
enough, we're flipping thiswhole thing.
And honestly, that doesn't soundunreasonable.
Because when life is hard, weall want God to fix what's
hurting us.
While they were focused on Rome,Jesus was focused on sin.
While they were focused onpolitics, Jesus was focused on
(12:36):
the human heart.
While they were focused onexternal freedom, Jesus came to
bring internal transformation.
And here's the tension.
They wanted relief from theircircumstances.
Jesus came to redeem theirsouls.
One is temporary, the other iseternal.
(12:57):
So why was this so hard forthem?
Well, because what Jesus broughtdidn't look like what they
expected.
They wanted power, and hebrought humility.
They wanted force, he broughtsurrender.
They wanted immediate change, hebrought a process.
They wanted a throne.
(13:19):
He moved towards the cross.
And that disconnect, that'swhere disappointment begins.
Here's the assumption the crowdmade.
If Jesus is the Messiah, then hewill do what we think the
Messiah should do.
And before we judge that tooquickly, we do the same thing.
(13:40):
We still do this today.
We don't say it out loud, but webuild expectations around Jesus
all the time.
We say God, I trust you.
But underneath that is to fixthis situation, to make this
work out, to heal this quickly,to open this door, to make life
(14:00):
easier.
And when things start lining upwith that, we get excited.
We're like the crowd, yeah, thisis it, God is moving.
But when God doesn't follow ourscript, that's when tension
shows up.
Because we don't just want asavior.
We want a savior who works theway we want.
(14:21):
We want fast answers, visibleresults, emotional relief, clear
direction, satisfying outcomes,and we want God to move in ways
that make sense to us.
So here's the hard truth.
Sometimes we don't just wantJesus to be Lord.
(14:42):
We want him to be manageable,predictable, understandable,
aligned with our preferences.
We want him to save us, but wealso want to define how that
saving should look.
Jesus will not be reduced to apolitical tool, a personal
assistant, a life coach who justimproves your situation, or a
(15:06):
version of God that only existsto make you comfortable.
He is not here to serve ourexpectations.
He is here to fulfill theFather's will.
Often looks different than whatwe imagined.
Because when Jesus doesn't matchexpectations, we have a choice.
(15:26):
Do we adjust our faith or do wewalk away?
The crowd chose disappointmentbecause the Savior they wanted
didn't match the Savior theygot.
And here's what's so importantto understand.
The crowd didn't instantly hateJesus.
It wasn't immediate rejection.
(15:48):
It was gradual disillusionment.
First confusion, thendisappointment, then distance,
and eventually rejection.
And that is still how it happenstoday.
It looks like this in modernday.
I really thought God was goingto fix this.
I really believed He was goingto come through.
(16:10):
I thought this was the answer.
And when it doesn't happen, wedon't always leave loudly.
Sometimes we just stopexpecting, stop praying the same
way, stop trusting deeply, startholding back.
We don't wave palm branchesanymore, but we also don't lean
(16:30):
in the same way.
Now let's be real for a second.
A powerful Savior is easy tofollow.
A victorious Savior isinspiring.
A miracle working savior isexciting, but a suffering
savior, that's harder.
Because if Jesus walks throughsuffering, then sometimes we
(16:52):
will too.
And we really don't like thatpart.
We want rescue, not refinement.
We want out of the storm, notstrength in it.
Answers, not mystery.
Solutions, not surrender.
But Jesus often worksdifferently.
He doesn't always remove thesituation.
(17:12):
Sometimes he transforms us init.
Because let's be honest, we lovea Jesus that says peace be
still.
We struggle with a Jesus thatsays follow me and carry your
cross.
We're like, Lord, I'm availablefor blessings, but I'd like to
opt out of the sufferingpackage.
(17:33):
And Jesus is like, that's nothow redemption works, honey.
So here's the real question.
Do we want the real Jesus or theversion of Jesus we imagined?
Because the real Jesus won'talways meet your expectations,
won't always move on yourtimeline, won't always fix
(17:53):
things the way you hoped.
But he will always be faithful,good, present, sovereign, and
working in ways deeper than youcan see.
The crowd didn't reject Jesusbecause he wasn't powerful
enough.
They rejected him because hewasn't predictable enough.
(18:14):
And that's where we start to seesomething important.
Because when expectations aren'tmet, praise can shift.
And we need to talk about thatnext.
This is the hard truth.
Praise based on expectation isfragile.
When Jesus didn't meet theirexpectations, the tone changed.
(18:36):
Because it's easy to praiseJesus when he looks impressive.
But real faith shows up whenhe's quiet, he's slow, he's
leading you somewhereuncomfortable.
Palm branches are easy.
Crosses are not.
Now let's be honest for asecond.
Some of us have feltdisappointed with God.
(18:56):
Not because he failed, butbecause he didn't do what we
thought he would.
You prayed, you trusted, youhoped, and it didn't turn out
how you expected.
And now that's left youwondering, can I still trust
him?
Well here's the truth.
God can handle your honesty.
You don't need to pretend withhim.
(19:19):
The Psalms are full of how long?
Why?
Where are you?
That's real life.
This shows up in real life allthe time.
The prayer that didn't getanswered the way you hoped, the
relationship that didn't getrestored, the healing that
didn't come yet, the situationthat got harder instead of
(19:40):
easier.
And in those moments, faith getstested.
Because now the questionbecomes, do I trust God or just
the outcome I wanted?
We often want Jesus to fixeverything fast, make life
easier, validate ourperspective, remove discomfort.
(20:02):
But Jesus is not just here tofix our circumstances.
He's here to transform us.
And that process is slower,deeper, and sometimes
uncomfortable.
Maturing faith often looks likethis God will fix this quickly,
to God is with me even here.
(20:23):
From I understand what he'sdoing to I trust who he is.
From following when it's easy tostaying when it's hard.
That's holy weak faith.
So here's how it plays out inreal life.
Identify your expectations.
Where have you quietly told Godhow things should go?
(20:46):
You need to be honest with God.
Tell him where you're confusedor disappointed.
Stay close to him even when youdon't understand.
Redefine winning.
Sometimes winning looks likestaying faithful, choosing
peace, trusting throughuncertainty.
Here's the question for today.
(21:08):
Where are you tempted to walkaway?
Because God didn't meet yourexpectations?
That's not a shame question.
That's an honesty question.
And Jesus wants to meet youthere.
Our holy homework for this week,I want you to journal.
I thought God would and then putyour answer.
(21:30):
I want you to be honest, andthen write underneath that.
But even here, Jesus is.
I want you also to read Johntwelve slowly.
Practice staying instead ofescaping.
Even a simple prayer.
Jesus, I don't understand, but Idon't want to walk away.
(21:52):
That brings us to the song ofthe week.
Today's song is Hosanna onMonday, because Sunday's praise.
Is one thing, but Monday'sfaith, that's where it gets
real.
This song is about trusting Godafter the excitement fades.
Staying when things don't makesense.
Choosing faith when expectationsare challenged.
(22:15):
Because real disciplineshipisn't just about what you shout
in a crowd, it's about what youhold on to when things get hard.
I've included the full song atthe end of this episode, so
please stick around.
You can find the lyric video onmy YouTube channel, Bryn Elise
Music, along with all of myChristian music.
(22:36):
While you're there, find theDivine Shenanigans channel and
join us for morning and eveningprayers, daily devotionals, and
also the weekly video series.
Mondays, Strength for the Week,Tuesdays, Faith in Real Life,
Wednesdays, a midweek reset,Thursdays, our podcast day, and
then Friday is EncouragementFriday.
(22:58):
It is truly an all-aroundChristian channel to get you
through the week.
I'd love for you to be a part ofthe Divine Shenanigans community
slash family.
I want to close with a littlebit of encouragement.
Jesus is still king, even whenthe story is confusing, the
outcome is unclear, the road isharder than expected.
(23:20):
He didn't fail the crowd.
He just didn't fit theirexpectations.
And maybe that's true in yourlife too.
Let's pray together.
Jesus, help us trust you when wedon't understand.
Meet us in our disappointment.
Strengthen us in our waiting.
(23:42):
Remind us that you are stillgood, still present, still king.
Give us the kind of faith thatstays.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Thank you so much for beinghere, my friend.
If this episode encouraged you,please share it with someone who
might be struggling withexpectations, disappointment, or
(24:04):
faith that feels a little shakyright now.
And remember, Jesus is stillKing, even when it gets hard.
This is Divine Shenanigans, andI'll see y'all next time.
SPEAKER_01 (24:22):
We were shouting like we knew everything you came
to do, waving hope like victory,crying now.
You set us free.
Didn't know it be across fields.
(24:42):
We had plans for how you'd saveus.
We had dreams you'd overthrowevery power standing over us,
every enemy we know.
We sang it loud and strong,Hosanna in the highest.
(25:07):
We were sure we were wrong.
You were riding in our voices.
We thought you'd take control,but you walked past all the
power, didn't call the armiesdown, didn't silence all our
(25:33):
enemies, didn't wear thevictor's crown.
You spoke of something deeper, akingdom we can't see.
And suddenly the freedom didn'tlook like victory.
And the louder that we praisedyou, the more confused we grew.
(25:57):
Cause you weren't who weexpected, We're doing what we
choose.
Something fell off key, Hosannain the highest, but not the way
we dreamed.
You were healing hearts andsinners.
(26:20):
We were craving history, Hosannaon Monday, but not the victory
we'd seen.
We wanted crowns without thedying, we wanted glory without
the cost, we wanted rescue onour terms, not a savior on a
(26:43):
cross.
So when you didn't fit ourpicture, and you didn't take the
fight, we traded palms fordisappointment and hope for our
own right.
But Friday it was different.
The same streets, different cry.
(27:05):
The voices that once praised youwere the ones that passed you
by.
Some shouted for your ending.
Some just walked away when youdidn't meet expectations.
We didn't know how to stay.
(27:26):
And I wonder if I'm different,or if I do the same.
When you don't move how I wantyou to, do I still praise your
name?
Hosanna on Monday.
When you don't fix the story theway I thought you might, when
(27:51):
you're not the kind of saviorthat makes my life feel whole, I
still cry, Hosean when you don'ttake control, Hosean on Monday.
Teach my heart to stay, evenwhen I don't understand, or when
(28:16):
you don't make away, you'restill the king of heaven, even
when it's unknown on Monday, andevery day beyond not just when
it's easy, not just when it'sclear, Hosanna in the waiting,
(28:43):
Hosanna in the scene.
It's divide Chanel.
It's sanctified clear.
With print on the mic and truthin her hands.
She's breaking down the bubblewith laughter and a plant.
It's divine.
(00:21):
Oh, it's divine shenanigans.
SPEAKER_02 (00:28):
Hey y'all, welcome back to Divine Shenanigans,
where we are learning, laughing,loving Jesus, and trying not to
spiral when Jesus doesn't followour very well thought out plans.
I am so glad you're here.
Today's episode is calledHosanna Until It Gets Hard.
And man, this one is honest.
(00:50):
Because Palm Sunday is beautifuluntil it isn't.
It's loud, it's hopeful.
It's full of praise andexpectation.
But it's also the beginning of aweek where everything shifts.
The same crowd that shoutedHosanna later shouted Crucify
Him.
And today we're gonna talk aboutwhat happens when God doesn't
(01:12):
meet our expectations,disappointment with Jesus, why
we often want a powerful Saviorinstead of a suffering one, and
how to stay in faith when theroad gets hard.
We'll talk about Scripture, reallife, holy homework, and our
song of the week, Hosanna onMonday.
So let's get into this.
(01:33):
Let's slow it down for just aminute, because Palm Sunday is
one of the most emotionallylayered moments in Scripture.
On the surface, it looks likecelebration, it looks like
victory, excitement, movement,hope finally showing up.
And it feels like the momenteverything is about to change.
(01:54):
The crowd hears Jesus is comingto Jerusalem and they don't just
casually show up.
They run out to meet him.
They grabbed branches, whichweren't just decorative, by the
way, they were symbols ofvictory.
This is like waving flags aftera war has been won.
This is like saying the king ishere, the battle is over, this
(02:18):
is the moment.
And they start shouting Hosanna,which means save us now.
Not eventually, not spiritually,not metaphorically.
Now.
That word carries urgency,desperation, expectation.
So this isn't just praise.
This is a demand wrapped inworship.
(02:40):
This is we believe you can saveus, and we expect you to do it
in the way we need.
And here's where the tensionstarts tightening.
Because while the crowd iscelebrating a victory they think
is about to happen, Jesus iswalking into a completely
different kind of moment.
They see a throne, he sees across.
(03:02):
They see takeover, he seessurrender, they see immediate
change, he sees necessarysacrifice, and those two visions
do not match.
The crowd wasn't wrong about whoJesus was.
They were wrong about what hecame to do.
They were expecting politicalfreedom, national restoration,
(03:27):
visible power, immediateresults.
But Jesus came for somethingdeeper.
He came to deal with sin,brokenness, the human heart,
eternity.
And here's what makes thismoment so powerful.
Both things matter.
Their pain was real, theiroppression was real, their
(03:49):
longing for change was real.
But their understanding of howGod would bring that change,
that's where things started tounravel.
Now let's talk about the detailwe tend to skip over too
quickly.
Jesus rides in on a donkey, andI need us to sit with that
because that is not random.
(04:09):
If Jesus wanted to match theirexpectations, he had options.
He could have came in strong, hecould have made a statement, he
could have looked powerful in away people recognize power, but
instead a donkey?
Which was a symbol of humility,peace, servanthood, not war, not
(04:31):
dominance, not politicaluprising.
So while the crowd is shoutingtake over, Jesus is quietly
saying, I came to lay my lifedown.
And that right there, that isthe tension.
Palm Sunday is the gap betweenwhat people thought Jesus would
(04:53):
do and what he actually came todo.
And that gap, it's uncomfortablebecause expectation feels
exciting, but reality requiressurrender.
Expectation says this is aboutto go my way.
Reality says this is about to goGod's way.
(05:14):
And those are not always thesame thing.
Now let's bring this into ourlives, because it's not just
their story.
This is ours.
We do this all the time.
We don't just follow Jesus, webuild expectations around him.
We say God, I trust you.
But underneath that is, to fixthis situation, to heal this
(05:39):
relationship, to open this door,to make this make sense, to give
me the outcome I've been prayingfor.
And when it starts looking likethat's happening, we get
excited.
We start our own version of PalmSunday.
We're like, yes, God is moving,this is it, breakthrough is
(06:00):
here.
We are spiritually waving palmbranches.
But then Monday comes.
Because Palm Sunday energydoesn't last forever.
Eventually, Jesus starts movingin ways that don't match
expectations.
And now we're confused.
Now we're asking, wait, why isthis taking longer?
(06:22):
Why does this feel harder?
Why isn't this going the way Ithought?
Why does this look like lossinstead of victory?
And this is where faith getstested.
Because it's easy to trust Godwhen it looks like he's doing
what you wanted.
But what about when he isn't?
Palm Sunday is not just aboutwhat the crowd said.
(06:45):
It's about what happens insideus when expectations don't match
reality.
Because there's a moment, andyou may have felt this before,
where your heart quietly shiftsfrom God I trust you to God, I
don't understand you.
And if we're not careful, thatcan become God, I'm not sure I
(07:08):
trust you anymore.
That shift doesn't happenloudly, it happens slowly,
suddenly, internally.
It's not always dramatic.
Sometimes it's just distance.
A little less prayer, a littlemore doubt, a little more
hesitation, a little moreemotional pullback.
(07:28):
So this is where the crowdchanged.
Because when Jesus didn't meetexpectations, the crowd didn't
all leave immediately, but theirenthusiasm faded.
Their certainty weakened, theirexpectations cracked, and
eventually their disappointmentturned into rejection.
(07:50):
And here is the hard truth.
If our faith is built on Jesuswill do what I expect, then our
faith will struggle when hedoesn't.
But if our faith is built onJesus is who he says he is, then
even when we don't understand,we can still stay.
(08:10):
Because let's be honest, some ofus love Jesus like, Lord, I
surrender everything to you, aslong as you circle back with me
before making any majordecisions.
Like, God, I trust your plan,but I would also like to review
it, approve it, and possiblysuggest edits.
And Jesus is like, yeah, yeah,that's not how this works.
(08:32):
Alright, bringing it back toPalm Sunday, because it's
beautiful, but it's alsouncomfortable.
Because it forces us to ask, doI love Jesus for who he is or
for what I think he will do forme?
Do I trust him when the outcomelooks like victory?
And also when it looks like thebeginning of a cross?
(08:54):
Because the same Jesus who waspraised on Sunday is still the
same Jesus walking towardFriday.
And if we want real faith, wehave to follow him through both.
And that's where we're goingnext, because once expectations
start breaking, that's whendisappointment shows up.
And we need to talk about that.
(09:16):
I have had seasons where I wasconvinced God was about to come
through in a very specific way.
Like this is it, this is thebreakthrough.
This is where everything makessense.
And then it didn't happen.
Or it happened completelydifferent.
And suddenly I wasn'tquestioning God's existence.
(09:38):
I was questioning his strategy.
Like, Lord, respectfully, whatare you doing?
I thought if God was with me, itwould look like winning, but
instead, it looked like waiting,restraint, confusion, obedience
without results.
And that's when I realized Ididn't just trust God.
(10:02):
I trusted my version of how Godshould work.
And those are not the samething.
In John twelve, twelve throughnineteen, Palm Sunday tells us
the crowd hears Jesus is coming.
They grab palm branches, theyshout, Hosanna, blessed is he
who comes in the name of theLord.
And Jesus rides in on a donkey.
(10:25):
Not a war horse, not a throne,not a show of force, a donkey.
That was intentional, becauseJesus is saying I am king, but
not the kind of king youexpected.
They wanted political rescue,visible power, immediate
victory, and Jesus came to bringspiritual salvation, heart
(10:47):
transformation, eternal victory.
They wanted Rome gone.
Jesus came to defeat sin.
And when those didn't match,disappointment started growing.
Let's talk about that crowd fora minute, because it's easy to
read this story and think, wow,how did they miss it?
But if we're honest, we mightnot have done anything
(11:10):
different.
The crowd wasn't lazy, theyweren't blind, they weren't
irrational, they weren't evenentirely wrong.
They knew Jesus was powerful,they had seen miracles, they had
heard the teaching.
Some of them had watched Lazaruswalk out of the tomb.
So when they shouted Hosanna,blessed is he who comes in the
(11:33):
name of the Lord, they meant it.
But here's the problem.
They were right about who Jesuswas, but wrong about what he
came to do.
And that distinction mattersmore than we realize.
The people were living underRoman oppression.
They were tired, frustrated,waiting.
(11:54):
They wanted freedom, justice,relief, restoration.
They wanted a king who wouldoverthrow Rome, take power, fix
the system, and make their livesbetter immediately.
They wanted visible victory.
They wanted a Savior who wouldstep in and say enough is
(12:15):
enough, we're flipping thiswhole thing.
And honestly, that doesn't soundunreasonable.
Because when life is hard, weall want God to fix what's
hurting us.
While they were focused on Rome,Jesus was focused on sin.
While they were focused onpolitics, Jesus was focused on
(12:36):
the human heart.
While they were focused onexternal freedom, Jesus came to
bring internal transformation.
And here's the tension.
They wanted relief from theircircumstances.
Jesus came to redeem theirsouls.
One is temporary, the other iseternal.
(12:57):
So why was this so hard forthem?
Well, because what Jesus broughtdidn't look like what they
expected.
They wanted power, and hebrought humility.
They wanted force, he broughtsurrender.
They wanted immediate change, hebrought a process.
They wanted a throne.
(13:19):
He moved towards the cross.
And that disconnect, that'swhere disappointment begins.
Here's the assumption the crowdmade.
If Jesus is the Messiah, then hewill do what we think the
Messiah should do.
And before we judge that tooquickly, we do the same thing.
(13:40):
We still do this today.
We don't say it out loud, but webuild expectations around Jesus
all the time.
We say God, I trust you.
But underneath that is to fixthis situation, to make this
work out, to heal this quickly,to open this door, to make life
(14:00):
easier.
And when things start lining upwith that, we get excited.
We're like the crowd, yeah, thisis it, God is moving.
But when God doesn't follow ourscript, that's when tension
shows up.
Because we don't just want asavior.
We want a savior who works theway we want.
(14:21):
We want fast answers, visibleresults, emotional relief, clear
direction, satisfying outcomes,and we want God to move in ways
that make sense to us.
So here's the hard truth.
Sometimes we don't just wantJesus to be Lord.
(14:42):
We want him to be manageable,predictable, understandable,
aligned with our preferences.
We want him to save us, but wealso want to define how that
saving should look.
Jesus will not be reduced to apolitical tool, a personal
assistant, a life coach who justimproves your situation, or a
(15:06):
version of God that only existsto make you comfortable.
He is not here to serve ourexpectations.
He is here to fulfill theFather's will.
Often looks different than whatwe imagined.
Because when Jesus doesn't matchexpectations, we have a choice.
(15:26):
Do we adjust our faith or do wewalk away?
The crowd chose disappointmentbecause the Savior they wanted
didn't match the Savior theygot.
And here's what's so importantto understand.
The crowd didn't instantly hateJesus.
It wasn't immediate rejection.
(15:48):
It was gradual disillusionment.
First confusion, thendisappointment, then distance,
and eventually rejection.
And that is still how it happenstoday.
It looks like this in modernday.
I really thought God was goingto fix this.
I really believed He was goingto come through.
(16:10):
I thought this was the answer.
And when it doesn't happen, wedon't always leave loudly.
Sometimes we just stopexpecting, stop praying the same
way, stop trusting deeply, startholding back.
We don't wave palm branchesanymore, but we also don't lean
(16:30):
in the same way.
Now let's be real for a second.
A powerful Savior is easy tofollow.
A victorious Savior isinspiring.
A miracle working savior isexciting, but a suffering
savior, that's harder.
Because if Jesus walks throughsuffering, then sometimes we
(16:52):
will too.
And we really don't like thatpart.
We want rescue, not refinement.
We want out of the storm, notstrength in it.
Answers, not mystery.
Solutions, not surrender.
But Jesus often worksdifferently.
He doesn't always remove thesituation.
(17:12):
Sometimes he transforms us init.
Because let's be honest, we lovea Jesus that says peace be
still.
We struggle with a Jesus thatsays follow me and carry your
cross.
We're like, Lord, I'm availablefor blessings, but I'd like to
opt out of the sufferingpackage.
(17:33):
And Jesus is like, that's nothow redemption works, honey.
So here's the real question.
Do we want the real Jesus or theversion of Jesus we imagined?
Because the real Jesus won'talways meet your expectations,
won't always move on yourtimeline, won't always fix
(17:53):
things the way you hoped.
But he will always be faithful,good, present, sovereign, and
working in ways deeper than youcan see.
The crowd didn't reject Jesusbecause he wasn't powerful
enough.
They rejected him because hewasn't predictable enough.
(18:14):
And that's where we start to seesomething important.
Because when expectations aren'tmet, praise can shift.
And we need to talk about thatnext.
This is the hard truth.
Praise based on expectation isfragile.
When Jesus didn't meet theirexpectations, the tone changed.
(18:36):
Because it's easy to praiseJesus when he looks impressive.
But real faith shows up whenhe's quiet, he's slow, he's
leading you somewhereuncomfortable.
Palm branches are easy.
Crosses are not.
Now let's be honest for asecond.
Some of us have feltdisappointed with God.
(18:56):
Not because he failed, butbecause he didn't do what we
thought he would.
You prayed, you trusted, youhoped, and it didn't turn out
how you expected.
And now that's left youwondering, can I still trust
him?
Well here's the truth.
God can handle your honesty.
You don't need to pretend withhim.
(19:19):
The Psalms are full of how long?
Why?
Where are you?
That's real life.
This shows up in real life allthe time.
The prayer that didn't getanswered the way you hoped, the
relationship that didn't getrestored, the healing that
didn't come yet, the situationthat got harder instead of
(19:40):
easier.
And in those moments, faith getstested.
Because now the questionbecomes, do I trust God or just
the outcome I wanted?
We often want Jesus to fixeverything fast, make life
easier, validate ourperspective, remove discomfort.
(20:02):
But Jesus is not just here tofix our circumstances.
He's here to transform us.
And that process is slower,deeper, and sometimes
uncomfortable.
Maturing faith often looks likethis God will fix this quickly,
to God is with me even here.
(20:23):
From I understand what he'sdoing to I trust who he is.
From following when it's easy tostaying when it's hard.
That's holy weak faith.
So here's how it plays out inreal life.
Identify your expectations.
Where have you quietly told Godhow things should go?
(20:46):
You need to be honest with God.
Tell him where you're confusedor disappointed.
Stay close to him even when youdon't understand.
Redefine winning.
Sometimes winning looks likestaying faithful, choosing
peace, trusting throughuncertainty.
Here's the question for today.
(21:08):
Where are you tempted to walkaway?
Because God didn't meet yourexpectations?
That's not a shame question.
That's an honesty question.
And Jesus wants to meet youthere.
Our holy homework for this week,I want you to journal.
I thought God would and then putyour answer.
(21:30):
I want you to be honest, andthen write underneath that.
But even here, Jesus is.
I want you also to read Johntwelve slowly.
Practice staying instead ofescaping.
Even a simple prayer.
Jesus, I don't understand, but Idon't want to walk away.
(21:52):
That brings us to the song ofthe week.
Today's song is Hosanna onMonday, because Sunday's praise.
Is one thing, but Monday'sfaith, that's where it gets
real.
This song is about trusting Godafter the excitement fades.
Staying when things don't makesense.
Choosing faith when expectationsare challenged.
(22:15):
Because real disciplineshipisn't just about what you shout
in a crowd, it's about what youhold on to when things get hard.
I've included the full song atthe end of this episode, so
please stick around.
You can find the lyric video onmy YouTube channel, Bryn Elise
Music, along with all of myChristian music.
(22:36):
While you're there, find theDivine Shenanigans channel and
join us for morning and eveningprayers, daily devotionals, and
also the weekly video series.
Mondays, Strength for the Week,Tuesdays, Faith in Real Life,
Wednesdays, a midweek reset,Thursdays, our podcast day, and
then Friday is EncouragementFriday.
(22:58):
It is truly an all-aroundChristian channel to get you
through the week.
I'd love for you to be a part ofthe Divine Shenanigans community
slash family.
I want to close with a littlebit of encouragement.
Jesus is still king, even whenthe story is confusing, the
outcome is unclear, the road isharder than expected.
(23:20):
He didn't fail the crowd.
He just didn't fit theirexpectations.
And maybe that's true in yourlife too.
Let's pray together.
Jesus, help us trust you when wedon't understand.
Meet us in our disappointment.
Strengthen us in our waiting.
(23:42):
Remind us that you are stillgood, still present, still king.
Give us the kind of faith thatstays.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Thank you so much for beinghere, my friend.
If this episode encouraged you,please share it with someone who
might be struggling withexpectations, disappointment, or
(24:04):
faith that feels a little shakyright now.
And remember, Jesus is stillKing, even when it gets hard.
This is Divine Shenanigans, andI'll see y'all next time.
SPEAKER_01 (24:22):
We were shouting like we knew everything you came
to do, waving hope like victory,crying now.
You set us free.
Didn't know it be across fields.
(24:42):
We had plans for how you'd saveus.
We had dreams you'd overthrowevery power standing over us,
every enemy we know.
We sang it loud and strong,Hosanna in the highest.
(25:07):
We were sure we were wrong.
You were riding in our voices.
We thought you'd take control,but you walked past all the
power, didn't call the armiesdown, didn't silence all our
(25:33):
enemies, didn't wear thevictor's crown.
You spoke of something deeper, akingdom we can't see.
And suddenly the freedom didn'tlook like victory.
And the louder that we praisedyou, the more confused we grew.
(25:57):
Cause you weren't who weexpected, We're doing what we
choose.
Something fell off key, Hosannain the highest, but not the way
we dreamed.
You were healing hearts andsinners.
(26:20):
We were craving history, Hosannaon Monday, but not the victory
we'd seen.
We wanted crowns without thedying, we wanted glory without
the cost, we wanted rescue onour terms, not a savior on a
(26:43):
cross.
So when you didn't fit ourpicture, and you didn't take the
fight, we traded palms fordisappointment and hope for our
own right.
But Friday it was different.
The same streets, different cry.
(27:05):
The voices that once praised youwere the ones that passed you
by.
Some shouted for your ending.
Some just walked away when youdidn't meet expectations.
We didn't know how to stay.
(27:26):
And I wonder if I'm different,or if I do the same.
When you don't move how I wantyou to, do I still praise your
name?
Hosanna on Monday.
When you don't fix the story theway I thought you might, when
(27:51):
you're not the kind of saviorthat makes my life feel whole, I
still cry, Hosean when you don'ttake control, Hosean on Monday.
Teach my heart to stay, evenwhen I don't understand, or when
(28:16):
you don't make away, you'restill the king of heaven, even
when it's unknown on Monday, andevery day beyond not just when
it's easy, not just when it'sclear, Hosanna in the waiting,
(28:43):
Hosanna in the scene.
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