As you go into 2018, remember that God DOES have expectations …

In my book, “Talking With God,” which is a collection of writings on the topic of prayer, I note on more than one occasion that our prayers much too often are little more than sets of expectations we have of God.

It’s okay to expect certain things of God, but we tend to saddle God with all kinds of expectations and then impatiently wait for Him to deliver on demand.

Along this idea of expectations, for some reason it has become popular for church leaders to teach that God doesn’t expect anything of us.

Have they read the Bible?!

God is, indeed, a God of expectations. In fact, when you and I stand before Him, He will take stock of how we have done with what He has expected of us. Don’t take my word for it, read these passages from the Bible for yourself …

“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last — dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.

“The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money.

“After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’

“The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’

“The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’

“The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’

“Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’

“But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’

“Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth,’” Matthew 25:14-30.

God gives us the precious gift of life, and He does expect us to do something with our lives that brings Him glory and pleases Him. But most of us are more like that third servant who was too afraid to do anything. Roger Campbell expounded on this topic in his book, “You Can Win!”:

Most of us do not accomplish much because we do not expect to accomplish very much. A. B. Simpson indicated the majority of us when he said, “Our God has boundless resources. The only limit is in us. Our asking, our thinking, our praying are too small. Our expectations are too limited.” J. Hudson Taylor observed, “Many Christians estimate difficulties in the light of their own resources, and thus attempt little and often fail in the little they attempt.”

What are you attempting for God?

What expectations would God have of you that you really could live up to through the power of the Holy Spirit if you just applied yourself?

This time between Christmas and the New Year when people often make resolutions and put together some plans for the coming year could be a time to use for re-examining what it is God expects of you and how you can live up to those expectations in 2018.

Scotty