Are your expectations killing your motivation?
How many times have your expectations shifted your mood, your interactions with people, or even your responses to the world around you?
It happens to me more frequently than I’d like to admit. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m a firstborn, or your quintessential Type A personality, whatever the reason, disappointment due to expectations is something that I struggle with.
I was reminded of this while reading the book of Exodus this week. I’m doing a Bible study with some ladies I just met and it’s been so great to dive into His word with them.
In Exodus 3, Moses meets God at the burning bush (an amazing experience to dissect another day). God reveals his plan - Moses will lead the Israelites to the Promised Land. Whoa! What an assignment! God even tells Moses that He will harden Pharaoh’s heart. But in Exodus 5 when Moses and Aaron do as God told them to do and say what God told them to say, Pharaoh does something unexpected. Pharaoh instills punishment on the Israelites because of Moses and Aaron’s request.
Moses knew that God would harden Pharaoh’s heart. What he didn’t expect was the repercussions of that, or who that would affect.
Moses was doing God’s will, but still had skewed expectations. I’d probably feel the same way if I were in Moses’ shoes! Despite the fact that God told Moses how it would turn out, Moses couldn’t have foreseen the in-between and all that it would take for God to deliver on His promise.
But that wasn’t the point! God asked Moses to complete a task (albeit a big one) and to trust Him, no matter what happens along the way.
Our obedience is more important than our expectations.
“I’ll do what you ask God” while internally we think “________ will happen if I do.”
“Yes, I’m happy to do it!” and on the inside we say “That must mean that _________ will happen.”
So what happens when those expectations aren’t met? It could be a variety of things, but for me lately it’s been a lack of motivation.
I have two studies I’m working on currently. Normally I only do one at a time, but God made it clear that I needed to do both in this season. One of the studies I thought would be a lot more work than the other, which is how my brain rationalized that I could reasonably handle doing both.
As it turns out, it’s flip flopped - the study that I thought would take less time has taken more time, and the one that I thought would take longer has been quicker to finish. Now this doesn’t seem like a big deal because the amount of time I’m spending doing them is relatively the same as I thought it would be, I’m just using that time differently. You’d think this wouldn’t be a problem, but my motivation to do EITHER of the studies went way down! Which seems so silly to me saying it aloud!
But my expectations weren’t met.
What I thought I knew is not reality.
I still completed the studies this week, and I still got something out of it, but not with the best attitude (if I’m being honest). So I’ve been sitting with that. The how doesn’t matter as much as the why. How I complete the days of study or how long it takes me isn’t the focus. I’m doing it because I know that God asked me to in this season and there’s something (or many somethings) that He wants to teach me through it.
So how do you keep expectations from killing your motivation?
Take a chapter out of Moses’ book - continue to have faith through your doubts. Moses had plenty of doubts, but He knew God and that God is faithful to ALL of His promises. Whether you have the motivation or not, remember the why!
