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What Can We Expect From God? Have you ever expected someone to be a certain way or to do something for you and been disappointed when they don't meet your expectations? I had this experience with my husband a few weeks ago. You see, as much as I love my husband, there are certain things that he is not gifted in, yes, he has given me permission to say it...he is just not mechanically inclined. So, when my 2 year old put a bar of soap down the toilet, who did I call? Pastor Dick, of course. And when we actually bought a new toilet last week, I prayed that Mike wouldn't break anything or hurt himself while installing the new one. (By the way, he did just fine.) His expectations for me? There's only one that I'm aware of where I am not gifted and that is participating in sports activities. Let's just say we're equal in frustrating each other in those two areas. Now, let's look at what God expects of us and what we expect from Him. Deuteronomy 10:12... "And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?" In short: We are to respect, follow, love, serve and obey. That was easy. Now for the tough question, what can we expect from God? In Philippians 4:13... "I can do everything through him who gives me strength." (Side note: Mrs. Wiebe reminded my of this a few weeks before Rachael was born & it worked great during her birth to keep repeating. Thanks Mrs. Wiebe!) Philippians 4:19..."And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ." "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward." Mark 11 :24 ... "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours." Psalm 34:19..."A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all." Catching on yet? These are promises that God has given us. There are many, many more that He has given us in His word that some of you have already studied. I'm in the process of finding another one each time I open my Bible. This is something we can always expect from God...that He will fulfill each one of His promises. It might not be in our timing or in the way we think things need to be done, but "God's ways are not our ways" as it says in Isaiah. If we do what He expects, of us: respect, follow, love, serve and obey, He will keep all His promises to us. Our husbands might not be able to fix the toilet, but the ever-faithful , promise-keeping Savior will lead us to a Pastor who can! Look through the Word and find more of God's promises. It's really fun and lifts the spirit.
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