Daily Cross Walk Devotional: Do You Have Unfair Expectations?

Welcome to today’s daily cross walk devotional

“Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or dumb? Who gives him eyesight or makes him sightless? Is it not I, the LORD?” (Exodus 4:11)

Last week one of the ladies in my office brought some veggie burgers to give away during lunchtime. She is occasionally sent free products or games through a particular company in exchange for dispersing word about them and sending in pictures of her friends & co-workers enjoying the free product. I’d never had a veggie burger, but I thought, Hey, I won’t say no to a free lunch!

Numerous people showed up to the break-room to taste the burgers, but everyone was a little nervous to actually eat them. I went first, my expectations little and my mind open.

It wasn’t bad! In fact, I found it delicious and would consume it again. Later I giggled, thinking there’s no way my husband would enjoy this. You see, my husband is a pretty big fan of a good burger. And, while the veggie burger was delicious in my opinion, it didn’t really taste like a beef burger. It had its own exceptional flavor. It would be difficult to give my husband something that appears like a burger and then tell him that it won’t taste like a burger. Basically displeasure would certainly happen.

Check Out: Pastor Chris Oyakhilome – The Responsibility Of Prayer (Full Text & Video)

And that got me thinking even further. Isn’t that an epidemic that the human race has most of the time? We have such specific expectations about things. We hear a movie mentioned and commended, set our expectations sky-high, and by the time we watch it, we can’t appreciate it because it doesn’t live up to the publicity. More harmful than movie expectations, however, are the prospects we subconsciously place on our spiritual life or our association with Christ.

“I’m supposed to feel ____ when I worship…right? But I don’t feel it. There must be something wrong with me.”

“Why don’t I hear God’s voice when I pray? Abraham did. Moses did. Does God hear me?”

“My friend _____ speaks in tongues. I’ve never done that. Does that mean I’m not filled with the spirit?”

But Scripture tells us that every mortal existence was created unique, in God’s image, and you have a different part to play in the body of Christ than your neighbor does.

Daily Cross Walk Devotional: All Your Days

“Currently the body is not made up of a part but of many. If the foot should say, “Since I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason terminate to be part of the body… If the entire body consists of an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the entire body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has structured the parts in the body with every one of them, just as he wanted them to be” (1 Corinthians 12:14-18).

Intersecting Faith and Life: The next time you allow your expectations to devalue you, remember that prospects rob us of joy in the here-and-now. Be current! Be appreciative! Remember that your experiences and your role in the church are meant to be unique and shouldn’t be equaled to anyone else’s.