Great expectations

We have high expectations for life, don't we?  But how much of what we expect is actually guaranteed?  We also expect a lot from the people we share life with...but how fair are those expectations?  We set ourselves up for a lot of disappointment when we put our hope in things that are not promised.

Letting go of our expectations can be painful...especially when things change suddenly.  But over time it will produce a greater joy than we could have expected.  John Piper describes this transition as the birth of a new joy.  "The first joy dies.  It's a real death, and that death is painful.  That wonderful joy disappears.  It's gone.  All that joy is struggling like a little seed to push its way up through rocks of disappointment and fear and sorrow.  There are days, and weeks, and maybe months of transition from the death of one joy to the full flower of another joy, and those are not easy days.  They require enormous patience as we wait for the Lord."

So what should we expect?  Well, to begin with, we can expect our lives on earth to come to an end someday.  Our eventual death, and the death of everyone we know, is guaranteed and we should always keep that in the back of our minds.  Life is short.  Don't waste a second of it.  This can either bring you great joy, or great sadness.  That brings me to the next promise.

There is life after death.  Whether you believe that or not has no effect on the truth or existence of heaven and hell.  Whether you believe in Jesus or not, we'll all face him someday and will know then without a doubt that he is Lord.  Now, in this life he offers us all the free gift of salvation...that just means that you either accept his covering of all your guilt, or you don't.  You either want to be right with God, or you don't.  And because God didn't want little robots, he created us with the ability to choose Him or not choose Him.  Which brings the next promise.

God promises eternal life, free from guilt and suffering and worry and pain.  He can offer us this because Christ paid the penalty that we owed God.  We're free and clear!  And honestly this is the only hope we have sometimes...the only light we see ahead in the dark storms of life.  Everyone else can let you down.  Any other thing in the world can disappoint.  But not Christ.  "For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not 'Yes' and 'No,' but in him it has always been 'Yes.'  For no matter how many promises God has made, they are 'Yes' in Christ.  And so through him the 'Amen' is spoken by us to the glory of God."  2 Corinthians 1:19-20
Did you know there are over 3,000 promises of God in the Bible?  I'll let you discover the rest yourself...but the apostle Paul says each one is fulfilled in Christ.  Friends, put your hope in Christ!

Is it wrong then, to hope for good things?  To pray for our loved ones to be healthy?  To hope for comfort and success?  No....but when the unexpected happens, you'll have your hope in Christ that "all things work together for the good of those who love God."  Romans 8:28.  In the midst of our disappointment and sorrow we may not see God's goodness...but we can still believe it and have hope that the death of the first joy will someday become the birth of a new joy.

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