Expectations: Part 1

Posted on by Maggie Tietz

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Expectations.
Definition: A strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the future.

 

We have expectations on everything we do in life. Whether it’s as big as our future career, how much money we will make, what our kids will be like, to as small as how will this salad taste, how will this person react when they see me…

 

Likewise, we have expectations when it comes to competition, we will win this many games and lose that many games, everyone on the team will work hard and get along, I will perform or be perfect on the field…

 

Conflict comes from this idea of unmet expectations.

 

When I expect to get at least one hit during the game and I strike out three times in a row, I am devastated. When I work out hard all summer only to find out some of my teammates have been slacking, I feel disappointed.

 

Happiness comes from succeeded expectations.

 

When everyone expected Kansas softball to finish at the bottom of the Big 12 Conference but we upset top-ranked Texas Tech, I felt overjoyed. When our eight-hole hitter steps up to the plate against Oklahoma State in the bottom of the eighth inning and hits a walk off home run, I was ecstatic.

 

This is with sports, this is with life.

 

It’s amazing to me that no matter how long we have been walking with the Lord, it is in our human nature to be in control. When we try to control the situation, we have our own expectations. Usually, God has something different in mind.

 

Do we truly believe that He is in control? Not only that He is in control, but that He is good, perfect, and holy? That He writes our stories way better than we could have written our own?

 

My prayer for today is that in this upcoming season of life, God rids me of any expectations. When we rid of our expectations, we really allow ourselves to see him provide. With no expectations, the result is always succeeded expectations. He will work it out better than we could have ever imagined if we have faith and put our trust in Him.

The only expectation we should have is that He will show up and He will provide, because that is what He has promised.

Jeremiah 29:11-13, “For i know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Matthew 3:17 says, “And …

Posted on by Maggie Tietz

Matthew 3:17 says, “And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

God said that He was pleased with His Son Jesus. This is not at all surprising, Jesus was perfect. But what about us? We are also sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. Is He pleased with us?

There are some days I head out to the softball field and I think, I want to make my coach proud today. The funny thing is, what makes her proud is not my ability. Everyone who hits and plays my position in Division 1 softball can hit a line drive in the gap, make a diving catch, and throw a runner out at a base.

What makes my coach the post proud are two things.

  • Positive Attitude
  • Hustle 

It’s funny because these things seem like they are so elementary, so basic, so useless. But at the same time, it’s not about your ability, it’s about your heart. It’s not easy to walk to the field every day with a positive attitude. And I have always been amazing at how hard it is to sprint from one drill to the next rather than a comfortable slow jog or walk.

See, there is a common misconception in faith. It’s that we don’t “know” enough or “do” enough as the Christian or our right or to our left. That after we die we are going to go up to the gates of heaven, recite about all the good things we did for other people, say ya I know about that one time, Jesus walked on water…

If that is the case, God will look at us and say the opposite of, “This is my Son, whom I love; With Him I am well pleased.”

He will say, “I never knew you.”

 

It’s not enough to just know about God and to do good things for other people, just like it’s not enough to hit home runs in you have a negative attitude or walk on and off the field. That will get you nowhere in baseball, softball, or interpret that to your sport.

But instead, we fill ourself up with Jesus day by day. We rest in Him and in His word, making Him our foundation, even if we know we are not perfect. We live each day in reverence to Him and by the conviction of His grace.

And when we are before God, we can say, I didn’t know everything there was to know. I sinned a lot. But then we can point to Jesus and say, I’m with Him. In this, God will take great delight in us.

Isaiah 42:1 says, “Here is my servant, who I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight.”

Fighting with a Sword

Posted on by Maggie Tietz

Monday at the Louisville Slugger Museum in Louisville, KY.

Refer back to my entry on “Warriors for His Kingdom”, written several months ago, and Ephesians 6:11-17.

Paul mentions in this scripture the armor of God, in which the sword is the Word of God. The sword is the only piece of armor used for killing, where as the others are used for protection.

I like to think of the sword of God kind of like a softball bat. Playing the game of softball without a bat is like living your spiritual life without reading the Word of God. It is absolutely, one hundred percent essential. No exceptions.