Expectations.
For many of
us, it seems that our expectations are rarely met by the people in our lives or
even by God.
Expectations.
This word
seems to have generally negative connotations.
Yet, what if
there was one expectation that appeared to not be met… yet was met in a much
deeper, more powerful, more intimate way?
What if the
expectation of one group of people was not met, yet the end result (what they weren't expecting) was so much more
life-changing?
Yesterday my
husband shared with our church a completely new [for me] perspective on Matthew
21:1-11. This passage is a fairly popular one, as it records the time when
Jesus enters Jerusalem shortly before His death. He enters sitting on a young
donkey, and the crowds surrounding Him praise His name and create a carpet of
branches for Him to ride through on.
Yet somehow… this is not what they
expected.
For hundreds
of years, the Jews expected their Messiah - their Saviour - to come riding on a
white horse, ready to lead them to victory against their enemies.
Jesus appears
riding a small, young, inexperienced, probably dirty, donkey.
He appears as
a servant. He appears as a friend. He
appears as one of us.
This is the
last way that the people in that time and culture would have expected Him to
appear - yet through that appearance He showed that He came in peace. He showed
that He came in love.
While some
people may have been shocked to see Him, the King of Kings, appear riding a
donkey, this was His great plan all the time! In the Old Testament it was
prophesied that the King - the Messiah - would come riding on a donkey
(Zechariah 9:9). He did not do things according to His people's plans - He did
things according to His plans. Jesus is the King that doesn't do
everything the way we expect.
This blows me
away. While earthly kings do not generally reach out for deep friendships with
their subjects and servants, my Heavenly King Jesus defied all expectations so
that He could be my (and your!) Friend.
My challenge
from this?
To remember
that God simply knows better: this is
why He is in control - not me! If I did have control of everything in my
life, what would I do, anyway?! My limited, human, lame expectations that I
(whether consciously or subconsciously) place on God are nothing in comparison
to what He actually has planned.
I pray that
my perspective would change; that I would remember that my unmet expectations
are probably going to be overshadowed by something so much greater than I could
ever imagine - something planned for my life by Jesus, the King of Kings.
~Rachel
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