Carolyn Arends writes: ‘Our expectations are not just unrealistic, they’re anti-gospel…Many of us…distort His promise of abundant life into something that resembles the illusion advertisers sell us every day. How do we resist our sense of entitlement and the distorted expectations that are so deeply ingrained? 1) Check the Definitions. When I read that God “works all things together for good”, I think of the marketers’ definitions…that “good” means “easy”, “youthful”, “desirable”, and “wealthy”. God defines “good” in entirely different terms. New Testament Christians seemed to believe the greatest good is to become more like Jesus. They took it for granted…the process wouldn’t be easy…that the “good” God is working towards is much more expansive than one individual’s personal circumstances. God is establishing His kingdom…“reconciling all things to himself” (Colossians 1:20), and the ultimate good…is to be included in that process…My heavenly father knows more than I do about what I need…His definition of “blessing” is different from mine. 2) Re-evaluate Death: I can point to “dead ends” in my career, or relationships that turned out to be opportunities to change direction. When I think of the energy I’ve expended resisting endings, I wonder what new life I’ve missed. Jesus tells us to die so we can live…to surrender all the illusions about what makes a life good…And then He walks with us…as we die a thousand deaths in the process of letting His life go deeper…into us.’

© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.