The word expectation is a bit of a loaded word for me. Ever notice how a word can evoke both positive and negative responses seemingly all at once? At family get-togethers, I have expectations of laughter and reminiscing. I also expect for certain family members to make speeches about our family’s history, our family’s faith, or something about legacy. And we can’t forget about the expectations for certain family recipes to be on the menu – the ones that catapult us back to days spent in the kitchen with our grandma.
While those are all good things to expect, there are also times that we have less than positive expectations. Perhaps an illness has been beating you down and it’s difficult to find a ray of hope shining through the clouds. Will these new meds cause more harm than good? Treatment after treatment and there’s no change other than increased tiredness. Or maybe it’s a relational expectation. As a former alcoholic, I’m sure there were negative expectations my family had when they knew I had been drinking. Or maybe it was more of an uncertainty – Will she be happy or angry in her drunkenness today?
I mention this word – expectation – in my post, Something Had to Die, and I hope that you’ll take a minute to read it if you haven’t already. Sometimes I’ll go back and reread some of my posts to remind myself of what God has said to and through me. It helps to restore some of that positive expectation we all need to have.
In Hebrew, the word tiqwah (or tiqvah – Strong’s H8615) is used to express hope and positive expectation in God. It’s usually in terms of His promises. Is it just me, and I’m getting a little raw here, but is it sometimes a bit hard to believe some of His promises? Some of the things He says can seem so very far-fetched based on what we experience in our everyday life.
Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.” Mark 11:22-24 NLT
Um, have you ever seen someone tell a mountain to move and it actually moved? We might see some figurative mountains move, but Jesus was talking about literal mountains. This is definitely one of those instances that goes beyond my understanding. I have a lot of doubt that I’m not proud of, but I want to see the mountains move – not just the figurative ones that we can look back on with appreciation. But I want to see what the world deems impossible.
All of these thoughts came from an interview I listened to between Russell Brand and Brandon Lake. Brandon Lake stated that his father had said something that stuck with him: We are not called to ministry. We are called to intimacy and from that intimacy, ministry will naturally flow. That is not an exact quote, but it has been playing over and over in my mind this way. Not called to ministry – called to intimacy. I don’t even remember anything else from that interview.
As I’ve been rolling this over in my head and heart, I couldn’t help but think of the expectations we have for God to bless us, help us, see us through to the other side, part the waters, and even rescue us when we’re the ones who chose poorly. We expect these things, but do we really believe Him?
Did you know that the average length of pastoral ministry is only three to five years? Another poll (these were both found on the Pastoral Care Inc. website) says that 85% of pastors believe the mission of the church is to reach the lost. We’re not called to ministry – we’re called to intimacy. Can you imagine the expectation of a pastor getting ready for Sunday morning service – or the lack of expectation?
“Now seek the Lord your God with all your heart and soul. Build the sanctuary of the Lord God so that you can bring the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant and the holy vessels of God into the Temple built to honor the Lord’s name.” I Chronicles 22:19 NLT
Now seek the Lord your God… it comes first. It comes before the church. Seeking God is what gives us the strength and wisdom to build the sanctuary, to be holy vessels, and to bring honor to Him. Our level of intimacy with God will either draw others to God or repel them. Intimacy comes before ministry. A ministry will thrive when there is intimacy with God.
This was – and is – a tough one to mull over. It’s convicting because the depth of my intimacy with God will also determine my expectations of Him. Do I expect Him to do what I think is impossible? Do I expect Him to move literal mountains? What about calming weather (Mark 4:35-41), being untouched by the flames of the fire (Daniel 3:19-25), or defeating the enemy before the battle even starts (II Chronicles 20:20-25)? When there is intimacy, there are certain expectations.
I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Ephesians 3:16-20 NLT
As my intimacy with God grows, His power at work inside me will accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or even think. Intimacy with God is what completes us. It is what gives us fulfillment. And it must come first.
If you’re at a crossroads and you’re not sure what to do, deepen your intimacy with God and the answers will come. All of our needs are met as we seek God and His righteousness – we gain peace in intimacy with God (Matthew 6:33-34). Chains of addiction are broken, and relationships are restored when intimacy with God becomes a priority over trying to fix things the way the world thinks is logical (Jeremiah 29:11-14). If you’re in ministry and you’re feeling the weight of the ministry, focus your energy on your intimacy with God and the ministry will start to flow in ways you never thought possible.
We are not called to ministry for God. We are called to intimacy with God. This excites me! We might just see some mountains start to move.