Unrealistic Expectations

So, what are you hoping for in your immediate future? Doubtless some good things, yeah? And perhaps a blessed release from the pressures and problems of today. But things don’t always work out that way, do they?

You have to laugh sometimes. People get suckered in by scams on social media that promise to predict their future. I saw one posted recently where the four things that would allegedly happen to “George” were a new home, a new car, an overflow of cash, and a happy life. Really?!

But isn’t that all too often our secret dream? And then, when it doesn’t eventuate, when things go from bad to worse, how depressing is that!

Look, maybe you’re travelling though one of those fantastic seasons right now. Good for you. But life’s rarely perfect. Those little ducks are rarely lined up in a nice, neat row.

So when you’re dealing with some unrealistic expectations, it helps that Jesus is a realist. In those scary weeks leading up to His crucifixion – when His disciples were in fear of their very lives – He said this to them:

John 16:33 “I have told you these things so that you can have peace in me. In this world you will have troubles. But be brave! I have defeated the world!”

Now there’s a promise you can stand on: In this world you will have troubles, you will have tribulations, you will have the life squeezed out of you. Hallelujah! But you can be strong, why? Because Jesus has overcome the world and everything in it.

I have told you these things so that in me, you might have peace.

That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.