Mindset = Expectation

All our words and acts are passing in review before God. (Ellen G. White)

Talk and act like a person expecting to be judged by the Rule that sets us free. For if you refuse to act kindly, you can hardly expect to be treated kindly. Kind mercy wins over harsh judgment every time. (James 2:12-13)

Expectation is a mindset that creates a sense of anticipation, is it not? When you invest your money in a fund, you anticipate a return. When you tell your teen to be home by curfew, you expect a timely return by that curfew end. What do we expect from each other? Those expectations create a mindset within that actually builds anticipation of some 'return'. We expect someone to be kind - revealed through kind words and deeds. This mindset is based on a form of hope. We could expect someone to act harshly, based on a set of expectations we have created about that person created from some character traits they exhibit. We have created a mindset based upon what we have observed. Because our 'minds' can be 'set' by a myriad of different things, expectations varying based on emotion and observations, we need someone to help us form the best 'mindset' possible. When we allow God to 'set' our minds, we are also allowing him to set our expectations. 

The RULE that has set us free is the one that should guide our 'mindset'. That rule? God's love seeks, finds, heals, and brings wholeness because of the finished work of Christ. Didn't Christ tell us to 'treat others as we expected to be treated'? Didn't he also live by that truth - leaving us with an example of how the 'rule' worked in everyday circumstances? What is 'hoped for' and what is 'observed' - both play a very important part in our journey with others. The truth is that we need to become the person that lives with God's love flowing through our veins. When you go to the Word of God, do you 'expect' it to change you? Or are you there to just 'check that one off the list' for the day? When you pray, do you expect God to hear and answer? Or are your words hollow and without true hope? 

We must understand the power of 'expectation' and how that creates a sense of anticipation within. We must also understand the power of the right mindset. When Christ is first in our lives, it is revealed in our choices and those choices are a direct result of having our expectations set by Christ. We 'expect' to live in safety - so God creates boundaries we are to live within. We 'expect' to be healed in areas where sin has left us in a world of hurt - so God brings us into times of closeness with him that allows him to minister to those wounds. All of our 'expectations' are tied to some form of 'anticipation', even in our relationship with God. Struggling? Disappointed by people? Disappointed by yourself? Ask God to purify your expectations - to give you a fresh mindset. Lean into him, anticipating his movement within. We might just have different expectations of those around us and ourselves as a result. Just sayin!

Ever jump the gun?

Have you heard the term "jumping the gun"?  In sporting events such as the 100 yard dash, a starting block is placed on the ground, runners squarely planting their feet in those blocks in order to give them a little "launch" into the race, and then they await the firing of the starter's pistol.  The starter will be poised, ready to pull the trigger, and the runners will be determined to be the first off the blocks.  Sometimes the runners "jump the gun" though. They make a false start - long before the gun fires, they will launch from their starting position and into "action" down the track.  As they recognize their error, they stop short, return to the blocks, and assume the position again.  Do it often enough and the runner can sometimes be disqualified from the race by those who have oversight for the race.  Why? Those false starts signal you aren't really paying attention as you need to be and you are outside of the permitted behavior of the runners.  If you are a little like me, even a tiny bit like me, you have made a few "false starts" in your day!  What we do in that moment when we realize we are running at full-bore without any real reason to be running the direction we are running is what matters.  Do we stop short and return to the block, paying closer attention, or do we just keep running, because after all, we are running in the general direction of the finish line?

Willingness and stupidity don’t go well together. If you are too eager, you will miss the road. We are ruined by our own stupidity, though we blame the Lord. (Proverbs 19:2-3 CEV)

Runners learn to "tune out" the various things which distract, like the crowd, those cheering or coaching from the sidelines, and even their own thoughts.  They learn to "tune into" the various sounds of the race.  They actually listen for the subtle click of the starter's gun being cocked, knowing they are about to launch into the race at a break-neck pace, and then they wait.  It is that moment between the clicking of the hammer being pulled back and the gun being raised into the air that the most false starts have the potential of being made.  Why? We anticipate the connection of the hammer once the trigger is pulled.  Anticipation is one of our biggest obstacles when we are trying to pay attention closely to what we are seeing and hearing.  Anticipation is simply a foretaste of what is to come.  When we hear the click of the hammer, we know the firing of the gun is not too far behind.  The moments in between may be infinitely small, but they make all the difference in keeping us from having to stop short and take our position all over again!

Why does the runner jump the gun?  Isn't it because they have foreknowledge of what is coming next?  This is exactly why we want to wait for the actual "command" to start to the race we are about to run.  The foreknowledge we may have is based on what we expect.  We may not have all the knowledge - because the starter is looking where we aren't - all around the track, at each runner's stance, and even at the sidelines.  Why?  The starter is ensuring all the runners are going to be safe when they launch from the starting blocks!  He isn't just casually firing that starting gun - he is anticipating the right moment when he sees everyone "settled into the blocks", course ahead without any hazards, and the attention of the runners astutely in tune with his every move.  God isn't much different from that starter - he is anticipating the right moment for us to "launch" from the blocks - but not until we settle into the blocks, focus our attention, and remove all the preconceived ideas of how the race will be run.  

The runners see what is immediately in front of them.  The starter sees the entire track.  He knows if there are hazards to be removed before the runners can safely take to the track. He also knows by the stance of the runners' bodies if they are ready for the race.  He isn't responsible to get them ready - but he is responsible for creating the best conditions for them to run the race!  We might take a lesson here - God is sometimes waiting on us to be ready to run the race - getting ourselves focused enough to hear the gun, confident he has our safety in mind, and tuning out all the other distractions which beckon for our attention.

I have run a few races in my years, and I have botched a whole lot of starts.  One thing I know for sure - you sometimes just need to stop, shake it off, return to the blocks and get in the zone again.  You cannot just keep running.  The return to the blocks may be a little humiliating when you realize you were the only one out there running, but if we let our pride get in the way, we will just be running aimlessly, disqualifying us from ever winning the race in the end anyway.  So, rather than get all wigged out about having to admit we jumped the gun, let's get real about not paying attention, and being a little distracted or too caught up in the anticipation of what we thought was going to happen.  In the end, it is this honest appraisal of the situation which makes us more ready when the gun finally does fire!  Just sayin!

A new lamp

Have you ever had one of those moments when you know something and no one else in the group does?  You are almost chatting at the bit to get an opportunity to share it with someone, or perhaps you have been sworn to secrecy and cannot.  Either way, it is almost impossible to contain yourself. The information you possess is almost too big to be contained.  I think this is the way it is with what God gives us - it is almost too big for us to contain it! It leaves us feeling like we'd have to share it or we'd burst.  I like the analogy of heading off to the market one day in search of a new oil burning lamp for the homestead.  You have the anticipation of the journey - for you have a mission in mind.  You have the moment of exploration - for there are many lamps from which to choose.  You have the moment of choice - for just the right one has been selected.  You have the moment of expectation - for you can imagine the light it will bring to your home.  Then at last, you have the joy of experience - for the light shed illuminates like nothing else.  So it is in discovery of the truths God has for our lives.  His question is sincere - if we have such an experience in seeking, obtaining, and experiencing this light, why would we ever tuck it away for no one else to experience?

Jesus went on: “Does anyone bring a lamp home and put it under a washtub or beneath the bed? Don’t you put it up on a table or on the mantel? We’re not keeping secrets, we’re telling them; we’re not hiding things, we’re bringing them out into the open. “Are you listening to this? Really listening? “Listen carefully to what I am saying—and be wary of the shrewd advice that tells you how to get ahead in the world on your own. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity. Stinginess impoverishes.” (Mark 4:21-25 MSG)

Looking at this analogy of obtaining the lamp, let's break it down a little more:

- You have the anticipation of the journey - for you have a mission in mind. Anticipation is best understood as a type of "foretaste".  There is some kind of hope which actually sets things in motion in your lives.  We often don't know what it is we will discover as we spend time with Jesus, but we know from previous "tastes" of time in his presence, it is a good thing.  What you may not realize is that the word "anticipation" is a noun of ACTION.  To anticipate something doesn't mean we wait in inactivity for whatever it is we hope to received from our time with God - it means we enter into his presence with ACTION (not activity).  There is a purpose - an intent - and it moves us.

- You have the moment of exploration - for there are many lamps from which to choose.  This is a moment of examination - for some things worth having require a little determined examination to uncover.  I have learned this as I have been exposed to a few antique shops in my recent travels.  Not all shops put the "good finds" right out there in the open.  You almost always have to dig through shelf after shelf, box after box, or hidden crannies to find it.  I think God may give us these times of examining what he has for us because he wants to us to come to a place of determined commitment to "find".  

-  You have the moment of choice - for just the right one has been selected. The anticipation and exploration should lead us into a point of choice.  Once we are intent in our search and purposeful in our exploration, we are at the point of often having to choose the truth we will hold onto.  We are faced with many choices of "truth" in our lives - only one choice holds up to the test of time - the truth of God's word.  Choosing involves consideration of the alternatives.  God gives us each free will - the ability to choose.  Whenever we are faced with choices, we consider the alternatives.  Using our illustration of the lamp, we can choose one which is square and squat, or one which is tall and slender.  One might fit the space better - while the other might just provide more light in the room.  The choice is ours - choosing the one which "fits" our needs the best is oftentimes aided by the "nudges" of the one presenting us the options.  God presents the options - we make the choice.

-  You have the moment of expectation - for you can imagine the light it will bring to your home.  As you begin to embrace truth, it begins to build an anticipated excitement within which we sometimes refer to as expectation. It is just a few days before Christmas and my grandsons have already been under my tree with a flashlight exploring the colorfully wrapped parcels in hopes of finding how many have their names on them.  At about two weeks before Christmas, my youngest came over to me and asked, "Grandma, did Santa come to your house?"  What I think he was really after was if Santa already hit my house, then he missed theirs - and that would be sorely disappointing for a five year old boy!  I assured him his tree would soon be filled with all assortments of colorfully and expertly wrapped parcels, as well - Santa had not come to Grandma and GG's house.  We had just done a little shopping on our own.  He seemed happy with this explanation and hopeful of the promise of Christmas morning around his own tree.  Anticipation builds around Christmas for the wee ones, doesn't it?  Truth be told, it kind of does for us "older" ones, as well!  As parcels will be unwrapped, realization of what you hoped for becomes real - the gift becomes yours.  My grandsons have come to look forward to good gifts under Grandma's tree.  Yep, there will be the "obligatory" socks and underwear, but they also know they will receive some special treats like their favorite toys, a shopping trip at Home Depot, and other items they much anticipate.  It is good to know our heavenly Father is overjoyed with us anticipating his good gifts in just this same way - with eager anticipation and excited expectation.

-  You have the joy of experience - for the light shed illuminates like nothing else.  It all culminates in experience, doesn't it.  When the light finally fills the room, darkness is dispelled.  When darkness no longer taunts us, we are free to move like never before.  My mom is legally blind - she knows what it is like to experience darkness in a different sense.  One of her most frequent requests is for more light to dispel just a little of that darkness she sees.  As much as possible, we try to keep the home light-filled and hazard-free.  It is more than for her safety - it is for her enjoyment.  God's hope for us is that we will come into both a place of being "light-filled" and living "hazard free", as a result.  Just sayin!