What to Do When They Don’t

Three years ago I was living a life of more moderate ease, living in a quiet subdivision, sitting by a community pool, maintaining a small yard and hiking on the weekends.

On one of those hikes I mentioned to a friend a passing thought that the idea of owning more land sounded interesting. Shortly later he informed me that a local farm had become available and my first reaction was dismissive, and for good reason. We had no clue how to run a farm and in all reality completely changing our lifestyle from suburbia to farming was not something we were expecting to do.

Yet we were able to watch as God removed hurdle after hurdle in a clearly divine path that led us to green pastures, literally. Items that could have potentially derailed the idea completely were managed with relative ease, and in what felt like a tidal wave of emotions we were full throttle ahead towards a course that we never could expect in a million lifetimes. The gift of hindsight offers the ability to reflect back and for us it further solidifies how even when our expectations are not in alignment with God if we choose to take steps of obedience how He reveals Himself along the way.

It brought up immediate correlations to Moses and how God used him to accomplish incredible things. Most assuredly Moses could have looked back at certain points in his life and feel a sense of awe of how God had moved mightily. On the other hand, consider what would have happened if Moses had not stood up for the abuse he saw that was occurring to the Hebrew by the Egyptian.

Had he chosen to simply ignore the abuse he would have remained in his position of authority as that was a path of prestige and honor. No doubt he would have continued to grow in influence and wealth. Yes it may have been the path that equated to riches and ease, which in many ways would be extremely difficult to turn away from. Yet by taking action it sent him down a course that forever changed his life and consequently the lives of many for generations to come. Quite often our expectations are not realized because we are out of alignment with what God desires and while that can be frustrating it can also be times of momental growth as part of our discipleship journey.

It makes me wonder that during the forty years after his service to Pharoah, when Moses was shepherding for his father-in-law, what were some of the emotions he was having on how God was moving in his life. Perhaps he was mad that what He had expected for his life was so far removed from reality that it created anger and bitterness. Yet we get to see that by going through those experiences he was being positioned to have a radical journey that he never could have imagined.

Reflecting on instances like Moses can help when our expectations seem misaligned with God. Instead of responding with anger, we can redirect our thoughts toward submission. Through this process, we position ourselves to see and hear what He desires most. After all, when our expectations crumble, God’s plan is often just beginning.

Questions to Consider

1. When has God redirected your plans unexpectedly?
2. How do you respond when your expectations don’t align with God’s?