What do I expect from God? What should I expect? And, are these expectations shaped more by who I believe God is or what I believe He can do?
Are we quickly disillusioned with God when we can't identify an obvious connection between His faithfulness and our need? For example, I expect God to heal, I expect God to provide my daily meals, shelter, warmth, or a job. We know in advance how we envision these needs being realized but what if His answer doesn't meet our expectation?
Is it possible that God is much less concerned with our physical and material comforts than we might expect? Less concerned with our chosen profession, location, or livelihood? He promises to provide, even bless. But have we somehow equated His provision with our comfort or even our prosperity?
In contrast my experience has been that I have learned much more about who God is in times of discomfort than comfort. C.S. Lewis wrote, “If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth—only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin with, and in the end, despair.”1
Perhaps God is more readily found, more completely understood, in the most difficult and challenging times of life. It is in these times we gain a greater understanding of His nature, His character, and that which He values most.
God hears your prayers and He responds. He promises to. But let's not predetermine what His provision might look like. Let's not assume how He might best work out His will in our lives. The greatest provision we might have is the ability to trust in His faithfulness despite our circumstance. “…for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances” (Philippians 4:11).
I'm praying for you today, praying God is at work in the areas of your life that burden you most. But can I ask that you seek God out right now in the middle of it all, discover something new about His faithfulness beyond a way out? Commit to knowing Him, not simply pining for what you hope He will do, but seeking to know what He is about doing within you right now.
Just a thought…
1Lewis, C.S. Mere Christianity, USA: Harper Collins, 1952 (31).
