"My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the Lord. "And My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9
Unrealistic expectations can get the best of us if we are not careful. We walk into many situations expecting them to turn out one way, but the reality turns out to be very different than we expected it to be. If we are not careful, unrealistic expectations will leave us disappointed, derailed, and disillusioned. This is particularly true in marriage. Often times, many of us expect marriage to be just like a romantic comedy, practically perfect in every way. Then, when we find that our expectations do not match our reality, we are angry and confused, wondering how our lives turned out the way they did. Could it be, perhaps, that the problem is actually us? Could it be that we have false expectations for our lives and for our marriages? Perhaps what we need today is a shift in our focus. Isaiah 55 is going to do just that.
Isaiah 55 offers us an invitation from God. "Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life" (Isaiah 55:3a). Rather than focusing on ourselves and our lives, God's call is to come to Him. This will bring peace, because, "My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the Lord. "And My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9). When we think about our own lives, these verses serve to remind us that there is a purpose we are to be living for beyond ourselves. God has a higher purpose than we have. While many of us are living trying to build our own little kingdoms of the earth, God is building up His kingdom, and He invites us to let go of our kingdoms and seek His kingdom instead. When building His kingdom becomes our focus rather than our own kingdoms, everything changes. This will radically transform our marriages and all of our other relationships as well.
So, whose kingdom are you living for? Are you living for your own kingdom, or are you living to be a part of the Heavenly Kingdom of God that will last forever? What if you and your spouse united for the focus of building God's kingdom, and that is what you expected out of your marriage. What you decided that in every relationship, your expectation was to build God's kingdom rather than your own, and that was your purpose and expectation. After all, God's ways are truly higher than yours. His thoughts are not your thoughts. And I am so glad, aren't you?
Are you operating under unrealistic expectations? Take out a notebook or journal and evaluate your relationships and your expectations. What expectations are realistic? What expectations are unrealistic? If some of your expectations are unrealistic, what expectations can you adjust?
Read Isaiah 55:1-13 (NLT)
“Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink— even if you have no money!Come, take your choice of wine or milk— it’s all free!Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good?Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food.
“Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life.I will make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David.See how I used him to display my power among the peoples. I made him a leader among the nations.You also will command nations you do not know, and peoples unknown to you will come running to obey,because I, the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, have made you glorious.”
Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near.Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong.Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
“The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth.They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry.It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit.It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands!Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow. Where nettles grew, myrtles will sprout up.These events will bring great honor to the Lord’s name; they will be an everlasting sign of his power and love.”
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