Good deeds will not get you in to Heaven. Neither does meeting expectations make you in God’s will. Sometimes we are mislead by doing good and meeting expectations of others that we give authority over us (family, friends, bosses, church, organizations, etc) and think that we are in God’s will. When my eyes were opened by God to these travesties in my life it was a plethora of emotions: freeing, disconcerting, disheartening and intense sadness that I had let my Heavenly Father down. In my past I have strived (and still find myself getting caught up in it around certain people/situations) to meet others expectations especially those of my family and church even to the sad exclusion of following God’s leading. Sad to say Satan seemed to be always hitting me with a whammy (or I was doing it to myself or allowing others) as I always seemed to fall short of meeting others “expectations” - family or church. It was never enough, not done their way, etc. It brought on a state of exhaustion and being overwhelmed.
One day in talking with a dear pastor friend of mine, God opened my eyes and showed me how His heart hurt because I was so busy trying to meet others expectations and do what I thought was right (according to expectations placed on me by others & myself) that I was sadly out of His will and purpose for my life. I didn’t have the time, energy, motivation or ability to do what He wanted me to do, called me to do; to minister to whom He placed in my life at that moment; to be willing and flexible to go where His Spirit lead me to go; serve the way He wanted me to serve. My purpose on this earth is to further God’s Kingdom and prosper it. Thus, I’ve got to seek His expectations above all others. Only then will I truly succeed at why He has me here. In seeking God’s will and striving to meet his expectations there is freedom, peace, joy, fulfillment, exhilaration and so much more.
God loves us for giving our all no matter how much or little it is, just as long as it is our ALL. This is not an easy step as the more we yield to God the more of a threat we are to Satan, the more he ups his attacks on us and boy does Satan know our weak areas. The amazingly wonderful thing is that God has got us 100% covered IF we trust in Him. He will fight any and all battles for us if we allow him to, no matter how big or small. He gave us the desire as parents to want to protect and give to our children. This is just a minute glimpse of His heart’s desire to protect and give to us. Just as our children go through the growth stages while preparing for adulthood, we as Christians seeking God’s will also go through the same growth stages with God our Heavenly Father. Our maturity in Christ shows as we develop out of the “2 y.o. I-do-it-myself” mentality into the “I don’t understand but I trust you as you know ALL” mentality.
Take time and examine why you are doing what you are doing today. Does it fit in to God’s will for your life or is it based on an expectation placed by yourself or someone else to keep you busy and miss your appointment that God has scheduled for you today? I challenge you to pull the “weeds” of others expectations out of your garden and only leave the bountiful “plants” of God’s expectations. Then see how much more your harvest is without the “weeds of others expectations” sapping the nutrients from the “God’s expectations plants”. Our God is an awesome God … are you opening yourself up to allow Him to manifest His awesomeness through your lives on a daily basis?
