For those of us on this spiritual journey there comes a point when we confront a roadblock we must circumnavigate – our expectations. For most people they believe that this is not important, hence, their inability to grow spiritually over their lifetime. They are seen as kindergarteners playing in the realm of the Spirit, happy one moment and throwing tantrums the next when they don’t get what they want.
Consider what the foundation of any expectation truly is: an egoic desire to shape reality outside of truth. Many haven’t even thought this far on the matter since they are so enraptured by the possibility of shaping their own destiny so to truly evaluate the reasons behind their desire frightens them.
We’ve all heard or commented, “What did you expect?” This often is offered during a time when results didn’t align with “expectations.” There is a judgment being made on the result as to whether it has met the goal or fell short.
Most often missed expectations revolve around the interactions of people. We judge people to be of a certain ilk and when they do not perform according to our standard, or expectation, we feel the need to distance ourselves from them or at least not put too much of our trust into them. Rarely do we take a position of grace to allow the individual to express their fullest God-given nature in order for us to live or work harmoniously.
One of the pillars to seeing your expectations dissolved is looking at how you handle trust. Sure, you know that people can trust you, right? However, can you offer the same level of trust to others? The greater the expectations you place on people, places, and even things, there is a diminishing level of trust associated with it.
Dealing with our expectations demands that we surrender our ego to a power higher than ourselves. We can’t be our own god determined to see that the world operates according to our whims and desires. If you suffer from the illusion that God is going to exact retribution for the eons of past mistakes of human existence, it is quite probable that you have issues with some egoic desires that you think need to be corrected for the world to function correctly.
“The just shall live by faith,” is a call to eliminate your expectations. You may never have thought about it in this manner but consider what is being put forth. Faith doesn’t have an expectation of time or specific result. Some seek God for healing and expect Him to answer their prayers of faith. However, often those prayers are laden with conditions about when it should happen and how it would benefit the individual. All these conditions are emblematic of an ego who still seeks to remain in control of their destiny.
How many times over multiple years have you prayed for something to happen, and it still has not manifested? How has your faith been impacted by this? How about your trust in prayer, or even trust in God? If either have waned, your expectations, your egoic desire, has hijacked the process.
At times like this, it is not best to say, “What did you expect?” but “Why did you expect?” Great grace is revealed in no expectations. God has no expectations for you because He is all-knowing. His Grace is sufficient. It’s time to be about your Father’s business without expectation.
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