Exceeding All Expectations

Have you ever gotten more than you were expecting out of a circumstance?

My wife’s family has known its share of heartache and adversity. After eleven years of marriage, my mother-in-law, Charlotte, lost her husband in a fatal car wreck. His death left not only a young widow, but a four year old girl and a seven year old son as well. Weeks before, the whole family had moved to Houston with the promise of a new job. Now, in a strange place – in an even stranger situation in life – the family was forced to move back to DFW, where a consoling extended family waited to receive them.

In time, the family grew stronger, and Charlotte met a young man, Don, through church friends. They dated off and on for a while, but after the relationship grew and matured, they decided to get married. Though Don could never fully replace the man those two children knew as father, he quickly became an integral part of a family that needed both a husband and a dad. This new group of four that God had brought together grew in love and relationship as a family. After some time together in marriage, Don and Charlotte decided they wanted to have a child of their own. However, when Charlotte was younger, she had a tubal pregnancy that cost her her fallopian tubes – she would not be able to have any more children through traditional means. After going through two disappointments with IVF, the couple was very discouraged. In time, they came to the conclusion that the only way that they were going to have more children was to adopt.

After going through the lawyers, the agencies, and the red tape that goes along with the adoption process, they had their file placed on record and waited for agencies to call. Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, and months into a year with no answer. However, one day out of the blue (as God tends to do), they got a call from a children’s home in Abilene, TX who had a mother wanting to see their file. Apparently, this mom had gone through dozens if not hundreds of applications searching for the right placement, only to decide that none of them were right for her. She wanted a family that had gone through some of their own trials already – as battle scars on a returning soldier. Don and Charlotte’s story touched her, and she knew in an instant that they were the ones God had chosen to raise her children.

Yes, that’s right, “children.” Part of the catch of this match made in heaven is that she was giving birth to identical twin girls! As you can imagine, the thoughts that raced through Don and Charlotte’s heads were dizzying. How could we afford two? How could we raise two? How many diapers a day is that? Would we have to pay for both of their weddings? These and a host of other questions pounded through their minds as they thought and prayed about it. Hadn’t they asked God for a great blessing? Of course they had, but they were only expecting a single answer – not two! After much thought, the couple said. “Yes,” to this expectation exceeding surprise, and two weeks later, they brought home two beautiful baby girls. Their names are Connie and Caryn, and they are now 14 years old.

So many times in our lives, we get more than we expect out of life’s situations. Sometimes, they are great challenges that shake the very fiber of our being. Then, at other times, all that we could have hoped for was small in comparison to the enormous blessing that we receive. The same holds true in our walk with Christ. If we’re not ready, the overwhelming cost of becoming a disciple of Jesus can exceed what we expected it to be. Many times in the Bible, Jesus’ outlining of what it would take to become like him was followed by a mass exodus of those who listened. Then, at other times, we lay our meager expectations of what desire out of our relationship with God before His feet, and He rockets past them with a blessing too big to count. In your worship this week, think about the idea of “expectations” and what is to live your life with Jesus – the great expectation exceeder!

Resounding Themes:
Faith in the Precious Name of Jesus
God the Great Healer
Salvation Belongs to God Alone
A Giving, Lavishing God

Ready, Set, READ

Acts 3 & 4

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- Why do you think Peter chose to heal a middle-aged lame man, as opposed to raising the dead or causing a mighty pestilence to destroy Rome? How does the man respond? How do the people respond?

- What are the different groups of people in these 2 chapters expecting from Peter and John? The lame man? The onlookers? The Sanhedrin? In what ways do they get more than they expected from them?

- In your opinion, how is Peter able to stand before all of these different groups and say what he does? What could happen? What does happen?

- How have ever you gotten more than you expected in your life with Jesus? If not, have you thought about what your level of expectation is?

Ready, Set, PRAY

Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your Name! Your praises flow from the mouths of both the aged and the young. There is no place on earth or in heaven that Your praises cannot be heard! In Your great patience, You deal with us kindly and with great care. And in Your great compassion, You lead us into paths of righteousness – for the sake of Your name alone. What a life we have with You, O God! Our days are filled with Your activity and work around us in the world, in our families, in our jobs, and in our commitment to You. As the Psalmist, we approach each morning with anticipation, as we lay all of our wills, wants, and desires before you and wait in eager expectation to see what you’ll accomplish. Father, move into our hearts and give us the ability to see as You see, to hurt as You hurt, and to love as You love. Exceed our expectations in all that You do. Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your Name! AMEN

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!