When Expectations Flip!

Let's talk about when God flips our expectations. Have you ever experienced this? When we in our human limited understanding think that we understand what the right move is and then God comes in and leads us to an answer we never saw coming!

Well, that is what happened with Richard and I when we started trying to find a church home here in Florida. Before moving from California we had looked at churches online, received some suggestions from people we knew in the area, so by the time we got down here we had two we knew we wanted to try.

One was a a bigger church that had multiple campuses and services. Bigger than any church we had ever attended. We chose to visit that one our first Sunday in Florida. We figured we would be tired, it would be nice to go to a service and not be instantly pegged as the new people. So, picking the traditional service we went and throughout the service both of us were filled with peace. The stress of moving, trying to find a church, delays, all of it faded away replaced with worship. But there was still a missing piece, there was peace, but we didn't feel settled.

The second Sunday we decided to try the other church we had found. Even though we really loved the bigger church we knew we needed to try it out. It looked cute online, similar to churches that we had grown up in. However, when we got there we quickly realized that it was not the church for us.

On the drive home we both decided that the larger church was the better fit for us in this season. We had peace there. there were opportunities to get connected with a small group and we really loved the Sunday morning services. We just had this feeling that this is where God wanted us. So we decided to go back to that church and try their contemporary service and it was where we felt settled. We went to their connections meeting after the service and we were able to get plugged into a small group for the following week.

As I was pondering the situation I was smiling at how God flip flopped our expectations. What we thought was going to be best for us wasn't what He had for us. It is just so incredible to me how He guided us to where He wanted us to be. He honored our prayers and our desire to follow Him, to make a pretty overwhelming task fairly simple.

What an awesome God we serve!

The changes that life bring come with uncertainty, decision overwhelm and wondering what comes next. I think one of the coolest things God has been teaching me lately is surrender. Truly laying my plans, desires, emotions, thoughts, and ideas at His feet. Bowing before Him and asking Him where He would have me go and what He would have me do.

LORD, I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps. ~ Jeremiah 10:23

So no matter where you find yourself today know that God is directing our steps not us. We can rest knowing that we don't have to have all the answers. But what are some practical ways we can start moving our hearts towards this obedience? This may look different for everyone, but for us it looked like;

1. Praying before hand asking God to make it clear where He wanted us to be

2. Releasing pre-conceived ideas and not comparing it to other churches

3. Praying throughout the week and listening to the Holy Spirits promptings

4. Knowing that just because we are saying yes to this in this season doesn't mean it won't need to change in another.

5. Discussing and praying about it as a family

6. Looking for ways to get engage and find fellowship, ask questions.

   
   

   I pray that this offered you a little bit of encouragement today and that you enjoyed our coffee time together. What topics would you like to see on Coffee Chats this year? Drop them in the comments! See ya next week.