Be Realistic in Your Expectations

“Expect nothing, live frugally on surprise.”

—ALICE WALKER

And now, Lord, what do I wait for and expect? My hope and expectation are in You.

—Psalm 39:7

If we expect something from someone we should really only expect from God, we will end up disappointed and frustrated. Ask God for what you want and need and trust Him to work through whoever He chooses. The Bible says Jesus knew human nature and therefore did not trust Himself to people (see John 2:24–25). He fully understood how imperfect people can be and how they are incapable of meeting all our expectations all of the time. He kept good relationships but at the same time was very realistic in His expectations.

I got hurt very badly several times in life by expecting people to give me what only God could give. One of the lessons I learned the hard way had to do with a sense of my own self-worth and value. For a long time, I looked to people to make me feel good about myself when, in reality, I had to find my true value in Jesus Christ and His love for me. If we place our hope and expectation in God, we will not be disappointed.

People usually don’t intend to hurt us, but the truth is, we all hurt and disappoint one another simply because we have inherent weaknesses. We are naturally selfish and tend to do what is best for us instead of what is best for other people. As we mature spiritually through our relationship with Jesus, we can overcome these selfish tendencies, but while we are in the process of changing, we will make mistakes.

Sometimes we expect something from others who are not even aware of our expectations. We become hurt and angry because we feel let down, and the individual we are angry at may not even know what he or she did to hurt us. Make a decision to put your expectations in God. Trust Him for what you want and need and it will make life a lot simpler.