The Ex Factor

I was reading 'The Shack' by William P Young over the past week and found a few of my old mindsets starting to change. I was reminded of the deeply personal relationship we have with Papa (God) and how we can be using conversational prayer all day long. I was struck by representation of Gods heart towards people who have gone through tragedy, especially the loss of a child. And I was challenged by a passing reference to how we relate to God.

I have already lent it to a friend, but on one page the author mentions the difference between having a relationship build on expectancy rather than expectations. So often the decisions we make in life are motivated not by our expectancy in terms of what God can do but by some perceived expectations we believe God or other people have of us.

One of the things I have been thinking about recently is how often I should post. As 2009 begins, I will be writing for Faith Lifts every fortnight and Inspired Bliss every week. That in itself will be a challenge, but I want to keep writing here too. I even started to feel a bit of pressure to write for ‘you’. Lol, I don’t even know who YOU are! ;) I was letting the expectations that I think the 10 or 100 of you might have direct how and what I write! Ok so one thing I have learnt is to have an audience of one. This year, with Gods help and prompting, I will write for Him. And I will wait on Him for what to write.

So its going to be a big year if I am waiting on Him every day to teach me something! But it will be a year of expectancy rather than expectations. Well, that’s what I want it to be. I will be needing to spend that time every day with the Lord other wise I’ll fall straight back into worrying about what other people will think.

Today I started reading “What Happens When Women Say Yes to God” by Lysa TerKeurst and, you guessed it, God brought out the same theme as He continues to teach me what He wants me to learn.

“Women who say yes to God will see life like few others. They are drawn in and embraced by a love like no other. They don’t have to wait until the next time they are in church to experience God because they sense God’s presence all around them, all through their day. Instead of merely walking through the motions of life, they pursue the adventure of the moment-by-moment divine lessons and appointments God has in store for them. They expect to see God, to hear from Him, and to be absolutely filled by His peace and joy – and, therefore, they do and they are.” (What Happens When Women Say Yes To God, Lysa Terkeurst, page 14)

Are you going into the new year in the light of expectancy or the shadow of expectations?