Friday, September 14, 2007 at 1:01am
Expect the unexpected
Column: For His Glory
Have you met your expectations? Think back with me one, five, 10, 20, 30 years ago. When you were just a young boy or young girl and you had dreams of becoming a lawyer, a preacher, a doctor, a successful business owner, think back to that tender age when the world was full of possibilities.
Are you there? Do you remember? Can you recall the excitement you felt as you would tell your parents and aunts and uncles when they asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" You proudly said, "I want to be a doctor," and they would all smile and be in awe that you had such high expectations and offer words of encouragement. Do you remember those times? Have you met those expectations?
Many may answer, "No, we haven't met those expectations." Still others may say, "You can't hold us to those expectations, we were just kids, life hadn't settled down and reality hadn't set in. We hadn't even attended high school or college yet, where broader possibilities are opened before us. When you graduate, that's when you start meeting your expectations; that is more realistic."
Then go back with me to high school or college graduation, and fast-forward from that point in your life when your family life, work life, church life were right there in front of you. Fast-forward from that point till today, and ask yourself: Have you met your expectations?
Expectations are something we all have, and yet sometimes we fall short of them. I believe there are principles in the Bible that help us meet our expectations. First, we must have an intimate and deep prayer life. We must make prayer such an integral part of our lives that God's plans for us will become known to us in a specific manner.
"In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps" (Proverbs 16:9).
It is through prayer that we would be alert enough to God's expectations for our life that we let Him direct our steps. I have learned in my walk with God that our expectations are not always His expectations and we must be prepared to drop ours in order to follow His will. With God, things are not always as they seem.
For example, in Paul's letter to the Romans he had expectations of visiting them and garnering their help for a missionary trip to Spain (Romans 15:19-24). Did you know that Paul never made it to Spain? Why? Because Paul wound up being taken to Rome as a prisoner — clearly what he did not expect. Yet Paul knew enough about surrendering his expectations to God's expectations that he trusted God would turn this imprisonment into a gospel opportunity. God did that, and we read that there were saints in Caesar's household.
"All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar's household" (Philippians 4:22).
How in the world were there saints at Caesar's household? Because Paul as a Roman prisoner was able to preach while in custody, and he used that opportunity to preach to the guards, who spoke to the servants, who then spoke to people in Caesar's palace. This may have not occurred, had Paul not gotten to Rome as a prisoner.
What this story teaches us is that there is a silver lining in every situation we face, even if it is not the one we expected.
So the next time you find yourself in an unexpected situation, pray to God that He may show his expectations in every situation. God bless you, and expect the unexpected.
— — —
Gio Marin is an author, currently working on a master of divinity degree at Andrews Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, with a dual emphasis on systematic theology and church growth & evangelism. Visit For His Glory, the blog, and send an email to {email GioMarinColumn@aol.com}GioMarinColumn@aol.com{/email}. © Copyright 2007 by Gio Marin.
Are you there? Do you remember? Can you recall the excitement you felt as you would tell your parents and aunts and uncles when they asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" You proudly said, "I want to be a doctor," and they would all smile and be in awe that you had such high expectations and offer words of encouragement. Do you remember those times? Have you met those expectations?
Many may answer, "No, we haven't met those expectations." Still others may say, "You can't hold us to those expectations, we were just kids, life hadn't settled down and reality hadn't set in. We hadn't even attended high school or college yet, where broader possibilities are opened before us. When you graduate, that's when you start meeting your expectations; that is more realistic."
Then go back with me to high school or college graduation, and fast-forward from that point in your life when your family life, work life, church life were right there in front of you. Fast-forward from that point till today, and ask yourself: Have you met your expectations?
Expectations are something we all have, and yet sometimes we fall short of them. I believe there are principles in the Bible that help us meet our expectations. First, we must have an intimate and deep prayer life. We must make prayer such an integral part of our lives that God's plans for us will become known to us in a specific manner.
"In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps" (Proverbs 16:9).
It is through prayer that we would be alert enough to God's expectations for our life that we let Him direct our steps. I have learned in my walk with God that our expectations are not always His expectations and we must be prepared to drop ours in order to follow His will. With God, things are not always as they seem.
For example, in Paul's letter to the Romans he had expectations of visiting them and garnering their help for a missionary trip to Spain (Romans 15:19-24). Did you know that Paul never made it to Spain? Why? Because Paul wound up being taken to Rome as a prisoner — clearly what he did not expect. Yet Paul knew enough about surrendering his expectations to God's expectations that he trusted God would turn this imprisonment into a gospel opportunity. God did that, and we read that there were saints in Caesar's household.
"All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar's household" (Philippians 4:22).
How in the world were there saints at Caesar's household? Because Paul as a Roman prisoner was able to preach while in custody, and he used that opportunity to preach to the guards, who spoke to the servants, who then spoke to people in Caesar's palace. This may have not occurred, had Paul not gotten to Rome as a prisoner.
What this story teaches us is that there is a silver lining in every situation we face, even if it is not the one we expected.
So the next time you find yourself in an unexpected situation, pray to God that He may show his expectations in every situation. God bless you, and expect the unexpected.
— — —
Gio Marin is an author, currently working on a master of divinity degree at Andrews Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, with a dual emphasis on systematic theology and church growth & evangelism. Visit For His Glory, the blog, and send an email to {email GioMarinColumn@aol.com}GioMarinColumn@aol.com{/email}. © Copyright 2007 by Gio Marin.