19 And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened…”
(Luke 24: 19-21)
What do you do when your earthly expectations don’t match God’s heavenly dealings? We look at the cross. Today, as I chased by three and one-year-old on the beach, I was hit by how many of my days have been ruined by UNMET expectations. You see, I went in today with ZERO expectations of laying on the beach, reading a book, or resting, instead, I knew it’d be busy. I ran around, I splashed in the waves, and I made sand castles.
I think so many of us set high expectations. High expectations of our lives, and specifically what we expect Christ to do for us. We expect a certain amount of calm in our lives. A certain amount of peace and quiet. I think most of our lives actually turn out to be more like the toddler years! Full of running around, long days, exhaustion, and perseverance.
As we look towards Easter, we are reminded of the disciples’ expectations that led to some HUGE disappointments. As the disciples looked at Jesus on the cross, they did not understand what was going on, they thought the Messiah was failing them. They were confused by the King of Kings dying here on earth on a cross. This was not what they expected, and not what they had hoped for. Even when he ascended to heaven, still some people did not believe.
They were confused at all that was being left on earth, all the pain, suffering, and hardship. Despite all the forewarnings that Christ gave his disciples, they still doubted. How many times do we set expectations of God, only to be disappointed, but not to understand the true meaning of God’s earthly and heavenly dealings? Let the cross remind us, that there is much we do not understand, and there is significance to all Christ’s dealings here on earth and in heaven.
![Has a post on social media ever made you immediately frustrated? Maybe you even started to think ill of the author of the post. You feel your chest tighten and wonder, how could they have said that? You are so mad you want to click the unfollow button.
[save for reference for when you’re offended]
An offense can happen when someone sins against us, or even if someone just rubs us the wrong way! Often, it comes out of a “right versus wrong” mentality. We get offended and harbor bitterness. Wounds and resentment create rifts and divisions and we find ourselves clutching our anger tightly in our fists to prove we are right.
It’s okay to feel upset when you are offended or sad, but we can’t let bitterness take root. Instead, we must be quick to forgive. As believers, holding a grudge inhibits our ability to reconcile. And when we avoid reconciliation, we miss out on what God wants to do in and through us.
Typically for me, offense stems from pride or self-righteousness. I have received some pretty offensive comments over time, and my feelings do get hurt. But as Christians, we need to be able to “overlook an offense” just like it says in Proverbs.
This passage says it is “one’s glory to overlook an offense.” #chasingsacred (read the rest of the article on @hosannarevival)](https://www.chasingsacred.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
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P.S.: Looking forward for upcoming updates.
Regards,
James