Everyday Step with Jesus

What do we do when something doesn’t turn out the way we expect it to be? Well, we just keep on swimming. Ahh, if only things were that simple. There are so many factors that can contribute to a different outcome than the one we were expecting. It is in those moments that we need to put our hope in God. But how do we do that? Keep on reading…

We need to switch our expectation from expecting a specific outcome to trusting God. Even when things don’t turn out the way we want them to, we keep on trusting God. Our trust in God is not based on the outcome, but by trusting in Him we no longer look at what may be but rather what He has in store for us. This leads us to understand that not all outcomes are known and that we have to expect the unexpected. Does the unforseen outcome have the potential of hurting us, frustrating us, and/or disappointing us? Yes, it does. But although the outcome may be unexpected, we can trust in the unchanging nature of our God, who remains the same yesterday, today and forevermore. Therefore, even in the unexpected, we can trust that our God will never change and He will see us through just how He does every single time. We can expect that we will have His help, guidance and comfort. This doesn’t mean that the outcome won’t bother us but it does mean that we can find peace despite the outcome. You see, with God, we are not promised that we will always get what we want but instead receive that which is ultimately good for us.

His word tells us: 

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 NJKV

This verse gives me hope, because He works ALL things together for good. That means everything that we go through…the good and the bad.  Literally ALL things. The joy and the peace and even the things we don’t understand or like in the moment, including the moments  of sadness, grief, confusion, disappointment, past mistakes.  The moment of suffering on its own is not good, but He is able to put it all together and work it out for good. We have a beautiful God that knows the bigger picture, so put your trust in Him. 

Although we know that we have a great God, it can be hard to see that when we are distracted by our expectation of how things should have been. In these moments we need to remember that the outcome is not our hope, but He is the one that gives us hope. So even when we don’t see what we want to see in the moment, we can have hope because He is with us and our hope doesn’t come from our situations but rather from Him. In order to switch our focus from the situation and unto our God, we need to remember that He is all powerful and all-knowing. He knows our past and our future. We need to remember to trust Him because He is trustworthy. And we need to remember to put our hope in Him alone. When we read His Word and we look around at His beautiful creation, there is evidence of His power.

POWERFUL

When things feel like they are falling apart or things get overwhelming, go to His Word so you can be reminded of His great power. He is the same God that delivered His people out of Egypt and the same God that parted the Red Sea so that they could escape their enemy, He will make a way for you too. His Word tells us: 

Behold, I will do a new thing, Not it shall spring forth; Shall you now know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19 NKJV

The same God that made a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert for His people in the past, is the same God that also makes a way for us when there is no way. He is powerful!

TRUSTWORTHY

He can be trusted over any outcome because He is faithful and has shown us His great love with the most beautiful action:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 NJKV

God showed us His love not by simply telling us, but demonstrated His love through His sons sacrifice. Our God is not just talk, He can be trusted even when we don’t understand what is going on.

HOPE

He alone is our hope, His word tells us:

Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:5 NKJV

Although the outcome itself may disappoint us and cause us hurt in the moment, putting our hope in Him will not disappoint us. His hope does not disappoint, even when we don’t see what we wanted, because we know that He is all powerful and can be trusted to work it all together for good. What we can expect during the unexpected is that when we are being led by Him, He will never disappoint us. The outcome may disappoint us, but not Him. Meaning He will not leave us alone in the midst of our hurt and questioning, but, rather, see us through it. 

I can tell you from experience that He surprises us during the unexpected. Sometimes things may not turn out how we want them to and other times they will turn out better than we expected. We need to trust in God and then we will see how He surprises us beyond our expectations. It will not always be the outcome we want; sometimes, He surprises us with something better. And remember, even when things don’t go as planned, in the bigger picture, ALL things work together for good, because He is in control. So during the unexpected we can trust in a God that never changes and can see the big picture. He’s got you…