An elderly man went fishing one day and happened to notice a young boy fishing nearby. It seemed as though he was having considerable success at catching fish. But what was more unusual than the number of fish he caught was what he would do with them once he landed the fish on the bank. He would hold each fish up to his hand and measure it. If the fish was larger than his hand, he would throw it back into the water.
Curious, the elderly gentleman approached the young lad and asked why he was keeping only the small fish and throwing the larger ones back into the water. The boy replied, “Well, you see sir, I can’t keep the big ones; I only have a ten-inch frying pan.”
Sadly, many people act that young boy in life. They shortchange themselves because they limit their expectations. They think, see, act, and expect nothing larger for their lives. Instead of expanding and enlarging their expectations, they instead reduce their potential and shrink their hopes. It is impossible to achieve success without expecting it. Just ask Elon Musk, Bill Gates, or President Donald Trump.
John Maxwell states that people are not receiving miracles in their lives because their “expecter” has expired. Once they had dreams but now they have doubts. Once their future looked bright but now it looks bleak. Their better days ahead have been clouded by bitter days behind. They are in trouble and need to revitalize their “expecters”.
Could it be that many need to take a moment and inspect their expecters? From a personal standpoint, do you see anything larger for your life? How about God’s church? Can He use you in bigger and better ways? Are there still some areas in which you have a narrow view of what God is trying to accomplish in your life? Do you remember the age-old saying that “can’t never could?”
Faithful expectations are the keys that unlock the door to many miracles. It was the leper in Matthew 8 that declared to Jesus, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” That’s a faithful expectation. The same was true for the woman with a bleeding disorder and the centurion that simply believed if Jesus would simply say the word, his servant would be healed. In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught us to ask, seek, and knock, posing the question, “if you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him?” The Greek grammar indicates that we are to “keep on” asking, “keep on” seeking, and “keep on” knocking in faithful expectation. James 4:2 tells that we have not because we do not ask God. And the reason we don’t ask is because we don’t really expect anything.
Maybe it is time we all revitalize our “expecters” and ask God to do the miraculous in our lives and in His church.
To His Glory,
Pastor Bill