Great Expectations

“One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon.  Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts.  When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money.  Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!”  So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.” Acts 3:1-5Jesus had ascended, the Holy Spirit had come (Acts 2), and now the ministry of the apostles begins. Peter and John are going about their daily routine, on their way to prayer when they encounter a man with a disability. Jesus had prepared His followers of His impending departure but He also told them what they could expect once He was gone. One of those expectations was the ability to do what He had done and even greater (John 14:12). This man in Acts 3 was a beggar, looking for something to meet his day to day needs. He had no greater expectation of anything other than the way he had always lived his life.Much like this lame beggar, lowering expectations is limiting the possibility that the impossible can happen.   Jesus Himself declared; “All things are possible to him who believes (Mark 9:23b)”.Expecting to receive anything from God takes faith and not the superficial kind whereby one waffles in belief in the existence of God or that God loves them enough or that they are worthy enough. It requires faith; “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him (Hebrews 11:6).” Peter and John instructed the lame man to look at them; “the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them”. Notice that the scripture said he was “expecting”!When you go to God, go with great expectation in full faith and knowledge that He is well able to do whatever He said He would do!