And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith. – Matthew 13:58

 Today's Scripture Reading (November 10, 2020): Matthew 13

One of the great mysteries of life is that people tend to live up to the expectations we have for them. Part of the reason is that the evaluation we develop of them is formed inside of us. So, if we expect good things out of somebody, we will often also give them the benefit of the doubt. It is a phenomenon that is seen in our political world. Regardless of the political party with which you might identify, the fact that you are a conservative or liberal means that you will see the leader who you think reflects your beliefs with a measure of grace. At the same time, those from the other stripe receive your, sometimes, unwarranted criticism. If we expect less or expect someone to let us down, we will interpret events as if they prove that the person will fail.  Researchers have found this phenomenon is critical in marriages that last.  Husbands and wives in long-lasting marriages tend to see each other in a better light and therefore interpret the other's actions with heavy doses of grace and acceptance.

It worked in Jesus's ministry too.  Jesus couldn't do many miracles in his hometown, basically because the people in the town didn't expect any miracles from him. Matthew simply says that he could not do "many miracles," while Mark remarks that he laid his hands "on a few sick people and healed them" (Mark 6:5).  They lacked the faith to allow him to do what he had come to do and be who he had come to be.  The result was to their loss.

Is it possible that sometimes we are powerless in the church because we don't expect God to move?  We don't see miracles because we don't expect them.  We don't see lives change because we don't believe that lives can actually change. We limit God throughout the sphere of our influence.

If we are going to achieve what God has designed us for, it is time that we begin to remove the limits.  We can't afford to react to him the way his hometown did. God continues to do the unexpected, but he can only do it if we allow him out of the box of our expectations. We need to give God permission to move as he wants to in our lives.  And if we release the power of God in our lives, he will accomplish the impossible.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Mark 4