Not the God of our Expectations
"When I called you, John, and told you that you would announce the coming of the Messiah, you assumed that because you were going to prepare the way for me, you would have the joy of seeing that wonderful day of my coming in glory. But today you have met a God you do not understand. Such is the mystery of my sovereignty. Such are my ways in every generation. No man has ever understood me, not fully. No man ever will. I will always be something other than what men expect me to be. I will work out my will in ways different from what men forsee.
'The guard has shifted his weight. The blade is raised above you. Death stands beside you. Die, my brother John, in the presence of a God who did not live up to your expectations.'"
"And blessed are you if you are not offended with me."
The Prisoner in the Third Cell - Gene Edwards
John the Baptist was born into this world with one purpose in his heart. His purpose was prophesied by Isaiah in the Old Testament and quoted again in the book of Matthew:
Matthew 3:3
"For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way the Lord; make his paths straight.'"
John lived a life of obscurity spending most of his time in the desert. Despite this, his life from birth to death was nothing short of incredible. He was born to a family that should never have been able to conceive and tasked with the purpose of preparing the way for Jesus Christ.
A duty that he took so seriously that he threw off all earthly treasure for the purpose of fulfilling his role in this miraculous story.
John even baptized Christ!! Not only did he baptize him, he watched as the Holy Spirit descended like a dove and landed on Jesus to empower Him for His ministry!
Matthew 3:16
"And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.'"
How amazing was that!?
So surely the one that prophesied the Lord's coming would indeed get to witness His rise to Glory? And the Resurrection of Jesus Christ?
But even though he had an amazing role and destiny in the story of the Messiah, what if I told you that his role in the story and even what he believed of God didn't meet his expectations in the end?
That even though His destiny was to prepare the people to receive the Messiah, that he would not live to see the fulfillment of Jesus' destiny?
But during the time that Jesus' ministry had begun to grow and grow, John entered the darkest season of his life. This faithful servant of God, who had fulfilled his task, was imprisoned... and then the unthinkable happened. A short excerpt from Matthew 14 says this:
Matthew 14:10
"He (Herod) sent and had John beheaded in the prison"
And thus the story of John the baptist ended. Never seeing the fulfillment of the prophesy. Never seeing his Lord risen from the grave.
God had failed to meet his expectations.
Just as he has failed to meet mine. And yours. And everyone time after time.
We put God in a box of how we THINK He should be and how we THINK that He should act and then when we don't get what we won't we say, "God, why did you let me down?".
Why does God allow bad things to happen? Why is God doing this to me? Why are things the way they are and not the way that I want them to be?
Our expectations of God and who He is will never live up to His sovereignty.
When you put God in the box of "what I want", you limit His power and He will fail to live up to your expectations every time.
The question isn't, "Why is God the way He is?", the question to ask is "Can I follow a God that I may never fully understand?"
He isn't our personal genie or our magic 8-ball. He is our Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and Omniscient God. If He is indeed All powerful, all present, and all knowing then how would our expectations of Him ever live up to His majesty!?
"A day like that which awaited John awaits us all. It is unavoidable because every believer imagines his God to be a certain way, and is quite sure his Lord will do certain things under certain conditions. But your Lord is never quite what you imagined Him to be"
The Prisoner in the Third Cell - Gene Edwards
So I ask these questions:
1. Can you follow a God that doesn't meet your expectations?
2. Can you move your expectations and desires aside, and let God's will be done?
God's plan for you is exceedingly more than you could ever hope for. You just have to move the YOU out of the equation and let Him do what He is going to do.
Finishing Notes: Like what you read? Please subscribe and share on social media! Also my next podcast episode "S.O.A.P" releases on April 20th! It talks about the popular journaling method SOAP and explains how to do it!
Thank you for Reading, Ethan Corbett
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