What do you expect from YOU? You see what you've been prepared to see. Many believers, people that are born again, don't expect much for themselves because they've been prepared by poor parental training to not expect much for themselves. But God expects a lot from you.
Jeremiah 29:11 reads, “For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, sayeth the Lord—thoughts of peace and not of evil.” So God expects you to do well in life. Is what you expect from life in contradiction to what He wants for you? Do you expect to fail? Do you expect to come up short? Or do you expect to do well? We see in life what we have been prepared to see. It’s a matter of renewing our minds to God’s way of thinking.
What do you expect from life itself? Do you expect to struggle as a Christian? Do you find yourself saying things like “I'm just trying to make it, but it is tough living for the Lord?” Be honest. What you find yourself saying is actually what you believe. So, if you expect it to be tough, then it is going to be tough!
Practice renewing your mind by delving into the Word of God on that particular subject… and start to confess it. In this instance, look at what Jesus says in Matthew 11:28-30.
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls; for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
When He says “I'll give you rest”, He's not implying that there will be no work. He's not talking about just extended vacation forever. What He's talking about is resting in your work. And once you yolk up with Him, then you should not be doing it all by myself. This means He’s helping you! So, when you realize that you don't have to figure out everything and you don't have to face life alone, it brings rest to your soul.
So, what do you expect from life? Do you expect to just go from one battle to another battle? Are you saying things like “Lord, I'm in the wilderness now.” Well, what are you doing in the wilderness? You should go through the wilderness. The wilderness should not be a destination… unless that’s what you expect out of life!
God never intended for his people to be in the wilderness. It should have taken the Israelites 21 days to go from Egypt to the Promise Land. They ended up in the wilderness for forty years! God doesn't want you in a wilderness.
You must change your mind set. If you expect your Christian life to be hard, then it will be hard. But God has more in store for you. Just cooperate with Him. Change the way you think and I guarantee that you will see things differently. The view from the mountain is much better than the valley!
What's your perspective on living for Christ? We see what we're prepared to see.
