What Do You Do When Life Fails To Meet Your Expectations

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

When life fails to meet your expectations, you should expect God to do the unexpected. We become discouraged when life, people and God don’t meet our expectations. We believe that we live in a cause-and-effect world. We believe things are supposed to turn out a certain way. We believe that if we continue to do “A”, eventually it will result in “B” but life doesn’t work that way.

It is in these times that we need to expect God to do the unexpected. We have nothing to lose by expecting God to do the unexpected in our lives. God is always ready to do his greatest work at precisely the moment we begin to think things are hopeless. The moment Moses reached the end of his rope, God stepped in and said, “Don’t worry, I have everything under control. I am going to let Aaron be your spokesman and when I get through, Pharaoh will think you are God.” God’s power is far beyond anything we can comprehend, so why shouldn’t we expect God to do the unimaginable?

God wants your faith to grow through experience. Experience comes in following God one day at a time. We walk by faith and not by sight. God seldom gave extensive details on the front end. When God calls us He doesn’t give us all the details up front. God told Abraham to get out of his country. God’s call wasn’t that specific. Abraham didn’t know where he was going. God simply called him out of his country into a land that God would later show him. He didn’t know the details up front. Initially, the important thing was just to get out. The important thing was to take that first step. Without that step things remain the same. Actually it is much easier to just take one step at a time than it is to know everything beforehand. How many of us would have taken the road to where we are now if we had known about the obstacles in our path beforehand? I don’t think I would have been doing what I do for 15 years if I had known the hardships beforehand.

When you step out one step at a time it allows God to fill your life with His presence. It allows God to work through you to the accomplishing of His will. It will be God at work in you. Moses finally realized God was all he needed. God is all you need. When you follow one step at a time you will find yourself in the center of God’s will for your life. When you follow one step at a time into the will of God you will become more confident with each step.

We Must Believe in God’s Wisdom. It doesn’t matter how old you are or how young you are, there is one lesson we all must learn in life. God can’t do the unexpected with our lives until we do what He says. Even if doing what He says doesn’t make things work as we expect them to. Even if doing what He says doesn’t seem to make sense. Moses realized that when he did what God told him to do things worked “just as the Lord had said.” If we do exactly what the Lord says, things will always work out just as the Lord has said. This is the first great step we all must take in faith. Yes, it is scary to stop trusting in yourself and start believing and following God’s will. However, it is the only way to live beyond what is expected. (Scripture Ref: Exodus 6:28-7:5; James 5:13-18; 1 Corinthians 1:24-29; Ephesians 3:20-21)

Author: Lou Coleman