Giving Up Too Soon
Tastes can vary between long term friends. In our Gray Hogs group, Mick and I kept eagle eyes out for Dairy Queens to enjoy Blizzards. But whenever Jerry spotted a Long John Silvers, that would be our lunch or dinner spot. He loves their fish, and even asks for the deep-fried crumbs.
That’s why Jerry’s hopes got so high on our 2022 East Coast ride. Not many fish and chip places on our route, but on our third day, he spotted one in Hays, Kansas. Understand, we’d been riding hard. Getting to Hays totaled 1565 miles in 2 ½ days, averaging 625 miles for guys in their mid-70s. Some hard riding, with another 240 before Wichita, our temporary home for the night.
So Jerry seeing the Long Johns in Hays signified a much needed break, he rejoiced and I grieved, hoping for something better. But our emotions shifted when we discovered this high-class eatery only had a drive through, no walk up, no inside seating. Juggling food and drinks on a bike just doesn’t work.
Honestly, you should have seen the waves of grief wash across his face. Days of hard riding, thinking he had a LJS reward, only for those hopes to be shattered.
Then we found a Whiskey Creek restaurant close by, with one of the best brisket sandwiches I’ve ever tasted. A nice Hazy IPA from a local brewmaster came along, and Jerry had his usual four diet colas, and we enjoyed a nice break from the road.
Hope seems to come naturally to us humans. Merriam Webster defines it, “to cherish a desire with anticipation.” The poet Alexander Pope has a famous line, “Hope springs eternal in the human breast: Man never is, but always to be blest.”
But hopes get shattered. Merriam Webster continued, “hope implies little certainty but suggests …the possibility.” Pope contributed, “Blessed is the man who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.”
We hope but don’t expect. Our optimism hopes for it, our pessimism keeps it from growing into expectation. So let’s hold them with a loose grip. Nice if they come true, OK if they don’t. That results in less disappointment.
One hope can to grow into expectation: God, “My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him” (Psalm 62:5 NKJV). Let’s not expect him to do what he hasn’t promised. When we expect it, we breed disappointment in God not doing what we expected.
But expecting God to come through on his promises gives us a bedrock assurance, “…it is impossible for God to lie, we…may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” (Hebrews 6:18-19. In our changing world, it helps to know expectations in him can be trusted.
Kick Starting the Application
Have you felt God disappointed you for not doing what you hoped for? What it a promise from him? How well do you balance hopes and expectations?