Some are too young to remember maps. I’m barely old enough to remember them myself. But, if you didn’t know where you were going, you needed one! And you didn’t just need a map, you needed the right map. If you don’t have a map, or don’t have the right map, you’ll quickly get disoriented, frustrated, and lost. Expectations are a lot like maps. It’s helpful to have the right expectations. Frustration is born out of unmet expectations. Gratitude is often born out of exceeded expectations. Peace can be held when your expectations are accurate.
So what do we expect to happen when we obey God? I think I often expect the right results to happen right away when I do the right thing. But, as you may well know, that isn’t always the case. In the story of Moses in Exodus 5, his obedience is not met with right results right away.
Sometimes, our obedience will lead to pain.
Rather than listening to Moses and obeying God, Pharaoh rejects Moses and the God of the Hebrews. Not only does he reject them, he also increases the Israelite slaves’ workload (Exodus 5:6–9). Often, what we expect to help does not lead to what we expected.
Now, what we tend to do next is ask ourselves if we did our obedience wrong. There’s wisdom in that. Sometimes, we will find that though our intentions were right and our heart was in the right place, we didn’t do our act of obedience right.
But it’s also important to be willing to accept reality if we did do the right thing. If we continue to beat ourselves up when our obedience really was done correctly, we can put ourselves in a place of shame and make it difficult on ourselves to step out in faith and obedience the next time.
Sometimes, our obedience will lead to receiving blame.
After Pharaoh makes the workload impossible for the people of Israel, the Hebrews are not happy with the one they see as being responsible for the mess they’re in: Moses (Exodus 5:21). Don’t be surprised if you face opposition from enemies when you step out into obedience and faith. But also set the expectation for yourself that the people that you are trying to help may also oppose you and blame you for their suffering. Again, it’s wise to ask yourself if you could do things better in those situations, but there were people who Jesus himself was trying to help that refused him and blamed him for their suffering. Don’t be surprised if you get the same treatment.
Sometimes, our situations will tempt us to blame God.
Moses cries out to God because of his suffering and says, “Lord, why have you caused trouble for this people? And why did you ever send me? Ever since I went in to Pharaoh to speak in your name he has caused trouble for this people, and you haven’t rescued your people at all” (v. 22). When we experience suffering, we’re not stupid. We retrace our steps to find the source of our problems— to find out what started the whole mess in the first place. More often than not, you’ll find the God who calls himself Love as the one who started you on your road to obedience, love, faith, and consequences.
But you weren’t wrong to follow God’s call into the unknown. God wasn’t wrong to send you. You’ve just met suffering and it has disoriented you. What we need is the right expectations— the right map— in order to keep following God into the unknown.
When you’re following Jesus, it’s helpful to keep these expectations in mind:
First, the right thing will not always lead to the right results right away. In the book of Exodus (if we’re to pay attention to the details what crops were growing and when they are normally harvested), the Ten Plagues that God sends to rescue Israel lasted about a year! We need to remember that God will not always act as quickly as we want him to.
Second, we will face suffering and evil when we fight suffering and evil. If you were fighting CareBears, you should expect cuddles and fluff, but you’re not. You’re fighting darkness. We shouldn’t be surprised when suffering and evil attacks us with suffering and evil.
Third, and most importantly: what happens to Jesus will happen to you as you follow him. Love leads to suffering. Spiritual forces of darkness attacked Jesus. They will attack you as you follow behind him. People blamed, accused, and opposed Jesus. People will blame, accuse, and fight you as you follow him. Jesus was crucified. It will feel like death to follow Jesus. Jesus was raised. You will experience the power of Jesus’ resurrection as you follow him (Philippians 3:10–11).
Hold on to Jesus. Hold on to your map. Don’t let suffering and evil disorient you. Don’t be surprised when the path of righteousness takes you through the Valley of the Shadow of Death (Psalm 23:3–4).
