No, low, or glow expectations of God

We vacillate. What was yesterday is not today. Still, given this day, July 17, 2019, I think people fit into three categories when it comes to God. There are those with no expectations, those with low expectations, and those with glow expectations of God. Let me explain how this works.

Those with no expectations of God believe God is not going to do anything, or cannot do anything. The thinking goes like this: if there is a God, then God is just sorta “there” and we are “here.”

Interestingly, if you believe God is not going to do anything then you do have a belief system. And others who, for a time, had no expectations may surprise you. I think of Abraham and Sarah who never thought they’d get pregnant in their ripe old age. “A baby?” They laughed!
They laughed because they did not expect God would give them a child of their own. Add Haggai to the mix and the story becomes even more interesting. And real. And true about no expectation people. (Their story begins in Genesis 12.)

Next, there are people who have low expectations of God. I’d say the majority of Christians are here, or have been here. Think about it. To do so, consider Elijah.

Elijah experienced great success as a prophet. God was present to him and he was present to God. Awesome and astounding things happened (visit 1 Kings). This also happened. Elijah ran not toward trouble with his ever-present God beside him; he ran from earthly trouble. He ran from God, too. Wanting to die, he collapsed under a Broom Tree (1 Kings 19).

Low expectation people like Elijah see God’s goodness, experience God’s grace and speak of God’s greatness, but their lives are not 24/7/365 “Oh yeah, God has this.”

Most of us have trouble moving past our low expectations of God. I know this because so few churches (and pastors) really stretch, really grow, really leap forward, and really live as Kingdom-bound people.

Glow expectation people? They’re dangerous. They’re bold. They’re daring. They have bold expectations. God has put something on their heart in the form of a ministry that won’t stop, even in the face of adversity.

In hardship and in heartbreak, glow expectation people know God will never leave them (Joshua I:5, Hebrews 13:5). They also know of the confident hope Paul speaks of where God has reserved for them a place in heaven (Colossians 1:5). And Philippians 4:13 is not just memorized for glow expectation people, it’s a mantra. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Glow expectation people experience trials and tribulations. They know, however, that Christ will strengthen them because they also know the Christian path is not an easy walk sometimes.

Even so, everything in and around glow expectation people shines—or will shine someday—because they know their lives don’t stop here on earth.

Let me return to Elijah. God didn’t appear to him in the wind, an earthquake, or a fire. God revealed himself in a whisper (1 Kings 19:9-18). No, low, and glow expectation people can all do the same thing: listen for God in the whisper, the small voice, the everyday miracles, and in the once-in-a-lifetime miracles.

That listening and then acting will make you—and the world around you—glow.