All of us at one time or another have experienced the disappointment of an unmet expectation. It’s natural that we expect things from our spouse, our children, our friends and from life in general, but when our expectations are not met, we feel saddened or let down. This is part of our everyday life. Expectations are good as long as they are in line with the will of God. Unfortunately, there are people whose expectations are based on Murphy’s law that “if anything can go wrong, it will go wrong!” These people find that their prediction becomes real far too often. It’s as though they expect Satan to make their lives miserable in one way or another. Instead, they should expect God to do the unexpected in their lives to deliver them from evil and to show them that He is always in control.

We know that with God all things are possible, but do we really believe they are probable? We pray with a sincere heart, but we have little expectation. Our faith is so rooted in earthly circumstances that we are unable to look up and to see the handiwork of God. Even Peter had difficulty believing the unexpected. Initially he thought he was having a bad dream. He was in prison when an angel appeared and woke him up. His chains fell off and the angel led him out of the prison passed the guards and through the gate. The gate suddenly opens and they went right through. When the angel left him Peter came to himself and realized that God had delivered him. Even the disciples who were praying for him found it hard to believe what God had obviously done. When God answers prayer in an unexpected way, we often have difficulty recognizing His answer.

We would be amazed if we could see all that God does for us behind the scenes. I compare it to flying in an aircraft. The pilot is in constant contact with the air traffic controller who gives him the correct altitude and heading needed to ensure that the flight takes off, flies and lands safely. The passengers are sitting comfortably in their seats unaware of all that has to be done on their behalf behind the scenes. Likewise, heaven and earth is being moved in unexpected ways to accomplish God’s will in our lives. Ephesians 1:11 says “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.”

Learn to expect the unexpected from God. We want Him to but we really don’t expect Him to.  Expectation is the characteristic of true faith. Hebrews 11:1 says “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hope is an absolute expectation that something good is coming. Hope is something that you can count on. When God does the unexpected we have difficulty believing what God is doing. If your hope is in God, you will find that He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above what you ask of Him.(Ephesians 3:20).