Homily for 16 Oct 2015

16 Oct 2015

We shouldn’t expect too much from God.  It’s not that God isn’t trustworthy—quite the opposite.  It’s just that when we expect something from someone (even from God), we could very well be disappointed.  When we expect something, we’re looking for something—something that we want.  In our expectations, we can completely miss the answer to our prayers.

In the psalm we pray: “I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.”  That’s not the prayer of a person loaded down expectations—except maybe one: the expectation that God will answer prayers in his time and in his way, for our good. 

How many times have we prayed: “Lord, help me with this problem I’m having.  Lord, guide me.”  And have we been disappointed by the response?  If so, why?  If we’re going to pray to God to “do his thing,” then we have to let God do what he does—without the interference of what we expect him to do.  And that’s hard.

It’s hard to pray to God and not think about how we’d like our prayers answered.  It’s hard not to have expectations of God.  But like Abraham, our father in faith, we strive to have simple faith in God and whatever he’s doing in our lives.  And whenever we’re tempted to mistrust God, or to start thinking, “Oh, I wish God would do this,” or “I hope God does that,” Jesus steps in and says, “Do not be afraid."

Do not be afraid of the Will of God.  Do not be afraid to have faith in God.  Don’t be afraid to put more trust in God’s wisdom than in our own expectations.  When we can stop expecting things from God, then we’ll see how God is working.  Then we’ll be able to pray the psalm today: “I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.”