Three steps to having better expectations with happier outcomes …

The expectations we have directly impact our happiness.

Take, for example, these lofty expectations of a French king …

“Louis XIV was one of France’s greatest kings. Known as the Sun King for the brilliance of his court, he saw his armies make France the most powerful country of its time. He was not without losses, however. When he received the news of his crushing defeat by the English at Blenheim, he purportedly proclaimed, ‘How could God do this to me? After all I have done for Him!’”

There are three mistakes (at least!) Louie made in the crafting of his expectations that left them crushed, and the king unhappy. These can be used by us as three steps to having better expectations with happier outcomes:

1. Don’t think too highly of yourself. Notice Louie understood he may set expectations for himself, but ultimately God would establish His steps. Yet, King Louie thought so highly of himself that he expected God to deliver the expectations he had; after all Louie had done for God, surely the Creator owed him!

Not quite.

When you think too highly of yourself, you’ll set unrealistic, even irrational, expectations. The apostle Paul warns us, “Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us,” Romans 12:3.

2. Replace your “perspectives” with biblical truth. Having your own “perspective” leads to faulty thinking. That’s because it may contain elements of truth, but it can also include other things such as biases, untruths, wrong assumptions, may not contain facts, etc. To develop your expectations from anything other than a foundation of biblical truth is to set yourself up for disappointment.

“Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope [or expectation] is in him,” Psalm 62:5.

“The hopes of the godly result in happiness, but the expectations of the wicked come to nothing,” Proverbs 10:28.

3. Pray first. Before establishing into your thoughts and desires your expectations, pray first. Have a conversation with God about what your expectations should be, and let the Lord lead your thinking so that you can avoid expecting something you shouldn’t desire.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done,” Philippians 4:6.

“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most,” Hebrews 4:16.

There was an interesting cartoon in Today in the Word that showed a fourth-grade boy standing toe-to-toe and nose-to-nose with his teacher. Behind them stares a blackboard covered with math problems the boy hasn’t finished.

With rare perception the boy says, “I’m not an underachiever, you’re an overexpecter!”

When it comes to our expectations, we don’t want to under-achieve or over-expect. To avoid both, we need to set realistic and rational expectations. We likely can improve on our expectations, and our happiness with the outcomes, but applying these three steps when developing expectations.

Scotty