Unrealistic Expectations

Yesterday my family and I attended worship at Van Dyke Church here in Tampa Bay, just as we do most weekends.  We have been attending there for the better part of 5 years now and we enjoy it.  We find the pastor to be encouraging and challenging, the music to be excellent and the worship planning to be creative.  We often feel the Holy Spirit at work during worship. And yesterday was no exception.  The sanctuary was full.  The new sermon series was called Shouting at Jesus.  Matthew was ON.  The worship music was good, and the praise team performed a re-written version of the old Tears For Fears song Shout to lead into the sermon.  It was a fine Sunday morning.  So why did it feel like a bit of a disappointment?


Since well before Christmas the congregation at Van Dyke had been bombarded with announcements and mailings reminding us that this sermon series was on the way.  On more than one occasion we were told during worship that this would be the most significant sermon series Pastor Matthew has ever preached.  The previous week Matthew himself told us he had never been more excited about preaching a series, one he said had been brewing for nearly 7 years.  Almost every day last week I received an email from the church reminding me that it was almost time to "shout at Jesus."  As my family discussed the upcoming event, we all agreed on one thing- this worship service would have to be absolutely amazing to live up to the hype.  There was so much build up, so many expectations, that disappointment was pretty much inevitable.  There was a good sermon and wonderful music.  To live up to the build up, I would have needed to hear God speak directly to me.  I needed to see signs and wonders.  Or at least a light show to rival Pink Floyd.  The hype built up such unrealistic expectations that a really good worship service felt disappointing- and that is a shame.


Our lives are often governed by unrealistic expectations.  We expect perfection from imperfect people.  We expect greatness from average situations.  And when we don't get what we expect, we feel let down and disappointed.  It has been my experience that the problem is more often with our expectations than with the actual outcome.  


Where are unrealistic expectations causing pain and frustration in your life?  How do we temper our hope for the miraculous and the wonderful with the recognition of reality?  Our answers to these questions say a great deal about where we are on our faith journey.  My prayer today is that I (and you) will place my faith in the things of God, knowing we will never  be disappointed by His love.  We know he will care for us each and every day, even when things do not seem to be going our way.  That is both a miracle and a totally realistic expectation.  Have a blessed week, my friends!