Expectations and the Holy Spirit
One brief note - then I'll get onto the meat of the post. It's weird. We've lived in Thailand 4 years now. We've seen the Tsunami, the cyclone in Burma and now two coup de'tats (well, the second one isn't a certainty to topple the government yet). None of it really affected life in Bangkok. The PM declared a state of emergency the other day and if I hadn't been reading the news online and watching CNN and the BBC I would not have known.
We are praying that the demonstrations don't spread to other parts of the city and that the violent element among the demonstrators would cease and desist. We pray for a just and fair resolution to the political conflict here and a restoration of peace and tranquility.
Now onto something that struck me recently...
"Our awareness of what happens to us is conditioned by our expectations."
There is a complement that I have learned not to trust over the years. It usually comes after sermons. "Pastor, you really preached a great sermon today." I don't trust it. A better compliment would be "Pastor, God really spoke to me through the sermon today." So much of what people get out of church is related directly to their spiritual state coming in (their expectations). Wrong expectations can thwart the Holy Spirit. Right expectations can energize the Spirit.
What expectations do you bring to church? Do you come expecting God to speak? If not - pause before your next Sunday service. Arrive about 10 minutes early. Sit down and pray. Ask God to make you aware of His presence and to speak to you. Then after the service ask yourself, "What did God say?" If you'll try this for a month I think you'll be amazed at what happens.
We are praying that the demonstrations don't spread to other parts of the city and that the violent element among the demonstrators would cease and desist. We pray for a just and fair resolution to the political conflict here and a restoration of peace and tranquility.
Now onto something that struck me recently...
"Our awareness of what happens to us is conditioned by our expectations."
There is a complement that I have learned not to trust over the years. It usually comes after sermons. "Pastor, you really preached a great sermon today." I don't trust it. A better compliment would be "Pastor, God really spoke to me through the sermon today." So much of what people get out of church is related directly to their spiritual state coming in (their expectations). Wrong expectations can thwart the Holy Spirit. Right expectations can energize the Spirit.
What expectations do you bring to church? Do you come expecting God to speak? If not - pause before your next Sunday service. Arrive about 10 minutes early. Sit down and pray. Ask God to make you aware of His presence and to speak to you. Then after the service ask yourself, "What did God say?" If you'll try this for a month I think you'll be amazed at what happens.
