All of us have expectations...of ourselves...of family...of community...of employers...of God. When our expectations are met, things are fine. But it doesn't take much experience in life to discover that our expectations aren't always met.
When our expectations of ourselves, our family, our community, or our employers aren't met, we get disappointed. But that last one is harder. When our expectations of God aren't met, it can send our faith into a tailspin.
We aren't the first ones to struggle with the truth that God doesn't always live up to our expectations. In Matthew 11:2-6, we find John the Baptist struggling with it. We also discover how to keep our faith soaring, even when Jesus doesn't live up to our expectations.
John has been arrested by Herod Antipas because John dared to speak against Herod divorcing his wife so that he could marry his neice, who also happened to be his sister-in-law. But that's a story for another time.
Sitting in prison, John hears stories from his disciples about what Jesus is doing. That's when the confusion sets in. John expected Jesus to baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. Jesus wasn't doing that. So he sends his disciples to ask Jesus flat out whether or not he is the Messiah.
Jesus' response may seem evasive, but in reality, he's pinpoint accurate. This list of things John's disciples hear and see are the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecies about Messiah. Jesus knew John would recognize them, and be encouraged. His expectations would be re-shaped by God's reality.
Did you catch that? That's the answer to keeping our faith soaring, even when Jesus doesn't live up to our expectations. If we'll reflect on what we see and hear God doing, our expectations will be reshaped by God's reality. Now here's the tough question:
Are your eyes and ears open to identifying God at work in your life?
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