According to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.
We all have expectations! We expect that people will be nice to us, that we’ll have good health, great marriages, faithful friends, successful careers, but what do we do when life doesn’t live up to our expectations? Paul show us how to deal with it. He faced broken expectations of place, people, and the future, but he calmed his heart in one truth. To use every phase of his life to magnify God.
Despite his wonderful expectations, Paul was stuck in prison. Sometimes we get stuck in a tough marriage, an unrewarding job or a challenging neighborhood and it’s easy to get discouraged. Paul encouraged himself to be positive amidst it all. He believed that his suffering helped to advance the gospel (Phil 1:12). Maybe people haven’t lived up to your expectations. Paul expected other believers to encourage him, instead some were actually glad he was in jail and were preaching out of ‘envy and strife’. Paul’s response to them was that ‘Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice’.
Maybe it’s an uncertain future, loss of a loved one, loss of a job or a health crisis. Despite his broken expectations, Paul declared, ‘For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain’ (Phil 1:21) Let us adopt Paul’s only expectation – for Christ to be honored no matter what.
Prayer: Dear Lord, give me the courage to make your honor my expectation. For only then will I not be disappointed. I commit my broken expectations to you that you’ll turn them into your glorify and for my good. Thank you Lord for your ever enduring faithfulness.
One-Year Daily Bible Reading Plan - Sept. 07 2010 - Ezekiel 34-36 (OT), 1 Timothy 6 (NT)
