UNMET EXPECTATIONS CAN STEAL YOUR JOY

A dear friend was coming to Eruwa some years back, and I craved Pizza. There was nowhere to get that in Eruwa. I shared my desire with my friend and she promised to get it. She truly got it the day before her trip and kept it refrigerated.

She arrived in Eruwa, and I asked for my pizza. I saw the shock on her face. She screamed. She forgot the pizza in the fridge in Lagos. I was initially sad for a moment. But then I told my friend, ‘The pizza may not be here, but you are, and that is enough.’

One of the things that steal people’s joy is unmet expectations. There may be things you have expected but did not happen.

For instance, Mary and Martha expected Jesus to show up for their brother, Lazarus. They sent him a message when he was sick. However, Jesus did not show up on time. Lazarus died. Then Jesus showed up after Lazarus had died. What would you think about that kind of friend?

There are two forms of response to unmet expectations:

The first is the Martha Approach. Martha goes and tries to respect still even though she is disappointed. She does everything routinely but nothing more.

John 11:21-22 NKJV
[21] Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. [22] But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”

She called him Lord. Some would still call their husband or wives sweet names, but they are nursing the disappointment. They say things they do not believe will happen. Why? They have lost trust. They postponed any expectations because they did not want to be disappointed again.

There is the Mary Approach to unmet expectations.

John 11:32 NKJV
[32] Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

Mary said the same thing Martha said, but Mary’s first action was the secret- She fell at His feet. That is worship.

What unmet expectations want to do to you is to poison your heart. If you go around with that slow poison, it will soon show in your words, your attitude and your trust in the Lord. It will begin to affect your relationship.

You do not know how pained you are until you get into worship. Worship means, “Lord, I may not understand, but you are still Lord. I may not know how 2024 dealt me this kind of heavy blow, but you are still Lord.”

You will likely see tears roll from your eyes as you worship sincerely, but that is the poison on your soul being washed away. If it stays in you, it kills slowly. But if you let it go in worship, you can hear, “Where is that matter that you are crying over? Let us attend to it now”.

Which approach will you take?