Expectations

“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose minds are steadfast because they trust in You.”
Isaiah 26:3

The Lord has really been teaching me a lot about expectations in this last year. I really feel like it’s a lesson that I’ve been walking through for a while now. But what has really become most evident in the past year is:

My expectations versus God’s expectations.

Those are two very different things.

While I know I can pray openly and honestly to God, ask, seek, and knock, pray for and expect miracles, there can be a danger in only praying for the outcomes I want or expect. When my prayers aren’t answered the way I expected, I can become disillusioned about who God is and forget that His way is best.

At times I have even prayed and told the Lord that I trust Him, only to wake in the middle of the night trying to come up with a back up plan. As if the Lord needed my help, just in case! It is then I am seeking to find peace in my own strength. And I will never find it there.

What truly catches me off guard is when I am putting all of my heart and energy into praying for a specific thing and then the unexpected happens – something that I certainly was NOT praying for – and I’m led into a storm that I never saw coming. I’ve even caught myself saying, “Ok, really, Lord?!? Now this? I can only handle one storm at a time!”

This reminds me of the disciples and the account of when Jesus walked on the water (Matthew 14:22-33; Mark 6:45-52; John 6:16-21). They had just witnessed this incredible miracle of Jesus feeding 5000 people from five loaves of bread and two fish. I am sure they were amazed in awe and wonder and were probably very excited about what the future held being one of his followers.

After this, Jesus told the disciples to get into a boat and go across the sea without him while he stayed behind and prayed. Like every other time Jesus gave an instruction, the disciples obeyed and did what He told them to do, unaware of what was coming.

My husband and I follow a YouTube channel featuring a young guy (ex-military mechanic) who has spent the last year fixing up a 45 year old, 70 foot yacht so that he could take it from Maine all the way down to the Bahamas. We have been following him from the beginning and he really knows what he is doing as he fixes issues along the way to keep the boat running and his journey a success. We love his positive attitude as he is always smiling and greets his followers each day with “Good morning, good morning!”

We have “learned” a lot about boat maintenance from Gus but something new that he showed us recently on a friend’s boat is called a “Seakeeper”.

What is a Seakeeper? A Seakeeper is a gyroscope stabilizer that drastically reduces boat roll, making for a more comfortable and stable experience on the water. It is meant to stabilize the boat when the waves get high and keeps the boat from rolling.

Now, Gus doesn’t have a Seakeeper on his boat but he does have other stabilizers built in to keep the boat from capsizing during bad weather.

Go back with me to the disciples as they were heading out on to the lake. They obeyed Jesus’ instructions and set sail for Capernaum, in faith, probably expecting a night of smooth sailing. But then…the unexpected happened. Instead of a peaceful boat ride, they were lead into a life-threatening situation.

The Bible doesn’t tell us what kind of boat they had. I imagine it was a vessel big enough to hold at least twelve people – probably not a yacht – and I can guarantee that it did not have a Seakeeper! We don’t know if had stabilizers of any kind in the hull to keep the boat from rolling during a storm.

And Jesus knew all of this. He knew what kind of boat they were in. He knew where He was sending them and what was going to happen. He really didn’t even prepare them for this situation.

Their expectations for what that night was going to look like was very different than the plan that Jesus had for them. He led them straight into the storm.

That can be hard to accept or to wrap your mind around. Why would Jesus, who loved His disciples, lead them into danger? I like to think of Jesus as the one who rescued and calmed the storm as the waves and wind obeyed His very command. It’s hard for me to think that this Jesus who loves me so much would instead send me into the storm.

And just when they thought they had been abandoned and maybe they lost all hope, there was Jesus walking on the water. He was coming to be there with them in the storm. He was coming into the boat to stabilize it – to be their Seakeeper!

There are times when I have felt like I’m still in the boat, waiting for my Seakeeper, waiting to see Him walking on the waves. I’m still reaching out my hand like Peter did, waiting for Jesus to pull me from the sea.

But the reality is, I don’t have to wait for Him to show up because He is already here. He knows where we are going. He knows what condition the boat is in. He knows what is coming. He is sitting next to me guiding and stabilizing me. He is the Seakeeper. The storm may still be raging around me, but He is keeping us from rolling or capsizing. He is keeping me from going under.

I’ve always said following God‘s will doesn’t mean it is going to be easy, but it is always right. Jesus told us in John 16:33, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

His way is best.

The journey may not always be smooth sailing with blue skies and calm waters. The storms will come. The unexpected will happen. Jesus might even be walking you into it, but He promises never to leave you. He will always be there keeping you in His perfect peace.

“I’m in His hands.
I’m in His hands.
Whatever the future holds – 
I’m in His hands.
The days I can not see
have all been planned for me.
His way is best, you see,
I’m in His hands.”

Heather Hanton
Ministries and Media Specialist
The Salvation Army USA Central Territory
Women’s Ministries Department