Sometimes, when we suffer a lot of disappointment in our lives, we can start to lose the ability to hope for things. We lower our expectations of God so much that we are barely able to pray at all and we start to doubt whether any of God’s promises could possibly apply to us. The Israelites were very much at this stage and even well beyond it. They had already lost all hope and they resented Moses for even talking about deliverance. Have you lowered your expectations of God to protect yourself from disappointment? Certainly, you may be justified in lowering your expectations of people but not of God. People may let you down, but God will not. In fact, God will bring about his perfect plans for us even out of our failings and the failings of others. If you are suffering disappointment you should reflect on who exactly you were putting your hope in. Of course, it is right to trust people where it is warranted, but it is not in people that we ultimately trust. Ultimately it is God whom we should depend on to lead us forward in life. Don’t let the failings of people make you disillusioned with God and don’t let your circumstances force you into assuming that God is no longer leading you ahead. Expect God to do great things in your life but do not pre-empt what this will be. False expectations are the most common cause of disappointment. Your expectations should be in God himself not in any assumption about what God’s specific plans are.
Prayerfully consider your expectations.
Read Exodus 5:22-6:12.
