YOU ARE in awe when someone nominates you for an award you do not know about.
And you're delighted when someone you love who lives out of town shows up at your event.
WHEN YOU look forward to something, you have an expectation. However, it is a surprise when you do not know what is coming.
An expectation will affirm your beliefs. A surprise will upend your expectations and make them look small.
When your expectations are met, you’re delighted. However, when they are surpassed, you’re blown away.
I pray that God will meet your expectations and surpass them.
MESHACH, SHADRACH and ABEDNEGO expected God to deliver them from the fiery furnace—and he did.
But before he delivered them, he joined them in the fire—he showed them the power of presence.
He surpassed whatever they thought of him. Jesus became their revelation before he met their expectation.
YOU WILL AGREE that adversity is a great time to get a revelation from God—and some will say that is when you need Him most.
Jacob will agree to this.
He was relieved when he saw angels walking up and down on a ladder from heaven.
Surely the LORD is in this place—and I did not know it! He said (Gen. 28:16).
Paul felt better when he heard God say, be of good cheer (Acts 23:11-15).
And when God gave him the souls of everyone on the ship, he knew this was something to share.
THERE’s SOMETHING about engaging God that sets you apart from the pack, and hearing from him makes you feel loved.
Elijah knew he was loved when God came to him in the cave (I Kings 18:9-18).
Stephen knew he was loved when he saw Jesus standing and welcoming him home (Acts:7:55).
Peter knew he was loved when Jesus came for him after the resurrection (John 21:1-17).
God comes to you to show you his love.
There's something about engaging God that sets you apart
HOWEVER, WHAT is God saying or showing you in these difficult times?
Whatever he says to you will point you in the right direction.
THERE WAS A WIDOW in Samaria who heard God in famine (I Kings: 17:7-16).
The instruction was precise, and the time was difficult, but the widow knew it was God.
She understood what to do but had to wait for the prophet to tell her what would happen.
Anything you wait for, you have no control over.
SHE KNEW that her obedience would yield results, but to the extent it would go, she did not know.
The same happens when you pray to God; you do not know what he would say or do. But you trust him.
THE WIDOW trusted God when she shared her last meal. She believed in God when she put her and her son’s lives on the line.
She knew that an engagement must precede an expectation. So, she engaged God to live beyond the famine.
Likewise, you must engage God and listen to his voice.
WHEN YOU LISTEN to your circumstances, you are downcast. But when you speak God’s Word to yourself, your spirit is lifted.
The prodigal son spoke to himself and returned home (Luke 15:18-21).
The Woman with the Issue of Blood did the same and touched the hem of Jesus’ garment (Luke 8:43-48).
Your problem isn't where you've been but how you see God
WHEN YOU WALK in obedience to God, your life moves from ordinary to extraordinary.
And when you confess His Word over your life, something in you comes alive.
You talk to yourself until your heart agrees with what you’re saying—and it becomes a revelation to act on.
David spoke to himself repeatedly until God’s Word became a revelation (1 Sam. 17:37; Ps. 43:5 and 118:11).
YOUR PROBLEM isn’t where you’ve been but how you see God.
When you do not pursue God’s perspective, you make yourself mediocre and limit your life.
So, how do you see God?
The Woman with the Issue of Blood had been in pain for years but saw a healer (Luke 8:43-49).
The Madman of Gadarenes had lived in the cemetery but saw a deliverer (Luke 8:26-39).
THE WAY you see him will determine your contact with grace.
The man on the stretcher received healing because he and his friends believed in the ministry of Jesus (Luke 5:18-20).
MANY PEOPLE will tell you they respect the anointing, but their behaviour says the contrary.
If you do not honour a man’s grace, you cannot benefit from it.
Judas Iscariot did not appreciate Jesus, and he did not benefit from him (Matt. 26:14-16).
The other disciples honoured him, and Jesus kept them close (John 6:39).
The centurion came believing that Jesus could heal his servant—and he did (Luke 7:1-9).
Mary appreciated Jesus and poured an expensive perfume over him (Matt. 26:7).
APPRECIATION leads to engagement. Engagement precedes revelation—and revelation is followed by expectation.
You must honour God to expect Him.
Bringing It Together
GOD’s GOODNESS is the ground of our expectation - Wilson Tozer.
To enjoy his goodness will require you to know Him—and the way to do this is to give your life to Him.
Commentaires