Managing Expectations / David Jeremiah

Managing Expectations But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting. Micah 5:2   Isaiah 55:9 provides a guide for managing expectations: God’s ways and thoughts are higher than our ways and thoughts. Meaning, whenever we think we are certain of how and when God will act . . . watch out!

Recommended Reading: John 6: 41–59

For example, when God prophesied through the prophet Micah where the Messiah would be born, everyone was surprised that it would be in Bethlehem, a small village “among the thousands of Judah.” But there was a reason: Bethlehem was the home of David, and the Messiah would be “the Son of David” (Matthew 21:9). But there was another reason: Bethlehem in Hebrew is bet lechem—“house of bread.” Jesus, born in “the house of bread,” declared Himself to be “the bread of life” (John 6:35, 48). This was a surprise—a shock, actually—to the religious leaders. Jesus said He was the new manna from heaven, replacing the “bread” that had sustained the Jews in the wilderness. Let God surprise you. Trust Him to do that which is best for you in His timing and in His way. [God] never discovers anything, He is never surprised, never amazed.  A. W. Tozer