I won’t bore you with tales of how many times the light bulb failed before the right mixture of gases was discovered. But I will ask you to consider this, how many people did you date before you found the one, or how many times did you run over a curb before you learned to operate a vehicle safely? Probably a lot.

So why do we feel dejected and disappointed when things do not quite work out as we imagined? I am specifically thinking about the number of gifts ordered from Amazon this year that, when they showed up, were not as expected. I opened a box to get the item ready to wrap and realized I had received a Youth Large instead of an Adult large for my nephew, who is 6’ 2”! Needless to say, it was Dec 23rd before I got round to wrapping it, so there was no time to send it back and get another one.

Sometimes we hit the jackpot; we find exactly what we are looking for or the item and experience exceed our expectations. I recall being introduced by a sister in Christ to the world’s best hair clip! Not kidding, how had she been keeping it a secret from me? Don’t you just love it when you learn about an amazing item, or book, or thing, and you get to share it with others? [By the way, if this is for you, sign up for our Favorite Things party on Jan 26th]

However, more often than not, we have unmet expectations. And they are at the root of many problems that we encounter today. We are constantly dealing with unmet expectations of others, of ourselves, and the things we purchase. A frequent occurrence in our lives is realizing that something we thought was going to happen a certain way just did not.

When this happens in our lives, how do we plan to handle it? There are many unmet expectations in scripture; the women go to the tomb expecting to prepare Jesus’s body. The disciples were expecting to hide away for a while after the death of Christ until things blew over. Paul, on the road to Damascus, was expecting a productive cleansing of Christians when he got to his destination!

Things did not go as expected, and many non-believers today face this same problem. They go to investigate the facts surrounding the death and resurrection of Christ and are astounded at the plethora of facts, both historical and geographical, that unequivocally support and, dare I say, prove that Jesus did indeed die and was raised again.

So why don’t they end up believing? Because our desire to hold on to what we know, what we are comfortable with, trumps the facts we are exposed to. Our worldview takes precedence over shown, proven facts. Why? That is the magic question, isn’t it? Why do you use that particular item that you love? Probably because it has been around so long. To be honest, everyone has something that is their favorite thing, right?

The challenge is creating new favorites, new patterns, and a new worldview. We need a new lens through which to see these things. Realizing that facts support Jesus being raised from the dead helps us to more readily accept that we have the power of the risen Christ within us. This is no wimp here; we literally are able to access heavenly help in changing our lives and resetting our expectations.

Creating new favorites means trying new things, reading new books, and going down different roads. How many new books will you read this year? How many new journeys will you take? How many times will you reach for the unfamiliar rather than the familiar? These are the ways in which we continue to grow as followers of Christ.

Just don’t try to do this alone; find a friend, recruit a study buddy, and make a connection with another sister in Christ who will encourage you as you encourage her. We are not designed to be alone; expectations will never be met if we remain isolated. Walk into 2023 with a new drive to take on the power of the resurrected Christ and look for your God-given path in this world, impacting the kingdom for eternity.