Broken Expectations - God can fix them

BROKEN EXPECTATIONS

God Can Fix Them
By Pastor Gerard Keens-Douglas, St. George's Evangelical Church

Phil.1:12-21

EXPECTATIONS: We all have them

 •        Successful careers
•        Recognition and Respect from others
•        People to be nice to us
•        Good Health
•        Enough money
•        Steady job
•        Great Family
•        Sweet children
 Very often life’s experiences shatters our Hopes, fractures our dreams and diminishes our Expectations. 

How often we hear people say:

•        I thought I had found love…
•        Never saw this coming…
•        Boy, people really change…
•        He said he loved me…
•        What were you thinking…
•        I guess life or God had other plans…

LEARNING FROM A CHAMP

 Paul faced broken Expectations and Triumphed.
o  Unwelcomed Place — Prison
o  Unsupportive People
o  Uncertain Future
Paul teaches us how to cope with the pit-falls of broken dreams and life’s disappointments.

WHAT ARE THE PIT-FALLS OF BROKEN EXPECTATIONS?

People Become:
Discouraged
(Jonah, Elijah, John the Baptist)

Depressed
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when desire comes it is a tree of life”
— Pro13:12
 “A merry heart does good as a medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones”
— Pro17:22

Disobedient
Living with the survival instinct.

Difficult (to live with)
Critical, complaining.

Distant
Ready to give-up, to leave, Life in the Spirit goes, focus change from God to people, hurts, self-pity.

DEALING WITH BROKEN EXPECTATIONS

Develop An Attitude Of Grace (Vs.12-14)
•        Look for the good in every disappointment
•        What can you celebrate?
•        How is this working for my or someone else’s good?
•        Joseph in Egypt, “God intended it for good…”

Develop An Attitude Of Joy  (vv.15-18)
•        “I Rejoice and will Rejoice” v.18
•        Sometimes my pain fulfills God’s purpose.
•        People can be encouraged, and empowered

Develop An Attitude Of Joy  (Vs.15-18)
•        Souls may be saved
•        Lives may be turned around as people watch you endure and stand strong.

Develop An Attitude Of Trust:
•        Trust God’s Sovereignty
•        God is in control, working in me, working His perfect will.
•        “For it is God who works in you to accomplish His will and good purpose”
— Phil.2.13

Develop An Attitude Of Trust:
•        Trust God’s Love
•        God is your Father, and he will always care for you
•        God loves you even when you don’t understand his ways and plans
 “God works all things together for good to those who love Him, who are called according to His Purpose” — Rom 8:28

Trust God’s Wisdom
•        If I trust God’s judgment he will make a way.
•        Heaven is not short on miracles
•        God is not too weak so as to manifest His power in my life.
•        Your faith has a chance to grow, to see God at work. 

A FINAL WORD
•        Hold your example
•        Look for encouragement
•        Recalibrate your expectations
•        Look for opportunities to serve others and show god’s grace in your life.

20 For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. 21 For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.
Philippians 1:20-21 (NLT)

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
Ephesians 3:20

For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:13

And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19

Journey to Sugar Loaf Island

Grenada actually had two public holidays this month (shocking, I know!) so I had another opportunity to explore a part of the country that I had never experienced before. This chronicles our journey to Sugar Loaf Island, a small island off the northern coast of Grenada.

After driving for close to two hours, we finally
assembled on Levera Beach, our departure point

View of Sugar Loaf island from the boat on our way over

These fishing boats were our mode of transport.
I applaud the courage of those who braved this ride without
life jackets,knowing that they were swimming challenged

It looks so inviting from the outside...

Until you got in and encountered one of these critters

The local name is 'sea egg' but they are more commonly known as sea urchins. They sit on the ocean floor and are sometimes covered in sea weed so they are only discovered when you accidentally step on one with your bare feet.

This reminded me of the deceptiveness of sin. It looks so attractive and pleasurable from the outside, but once you get in, you can be seriously hurt.

The Grenadians did not let these prickly sea creatures hamper a perfectly good beach day. They were swiftly harvested and appropriately dealt with...

Was not brave enough to try this dish

The high point of our day was our hike to the peak of the mountain in the middle of the island. We were not at all prepared for this adventure, with most of us dressed in beach clothes, but we decided to tackle it anyway. It started off easily enough, with us following a path around the perimeter of the island.

Here was wide enough for us to walk comfortably

But soon the path narrowed and took us through some cacti patches and trees full of pickers. That required some skillful bending and stepping to avoid being punctured by thorns. Then came the rocks...

Testing each rock before putting our full weight on it

The sun was blazing, the climb was demanding and at times painful, but the view at the top was so worth it

View before the climb

The view was honestly more spectacular the higher we climbed

People who say there is no God have clearly
never been to the top of this mountain

Victory pose at the top

We came. We saw. We conquered.

This climb reminded me of the Christian life. There are times when it is easy, but then sometimes it gets more challenging. However, once we persevere, we can overcome the obstacles and the reward at the end is out of this world!

After we had our full of the majestic view, we headed back down for lunch of oil down that was so lovingly prepared by the Rodney cooking team.

They were also the organisers of the whole lime - thanks guys!

Assistant chefs adding vital ingredients to the pot

Melanie enjoyed her first taste of
Grenada's national dish - oil down!

We then spent the rest of the day soaking in the warm waters on the beach of the island that we had all to ourselves - paradise! Did I mention that God held back the rain so we could make the most of a fun day in the sun? Oh how He loves me :)

The beach was fine once we got rid of all the sea eggs

Picking coconut like ah real island boy

Enjoying some sweet mango

There were so many photo opportunities

Can't wait for another opportunity to visit
this breath-takingly beautiful island

God is still good

God is still good when my maternal grandmother dies before I ever get a chance to meet her.

God is still good when I don’t have any close friends in primary school.

God is still good when I cry for any and everything – when I’m sad, when I’m mad, when I’m afraid, when I’m ashamed.

God is still good when I get kicked off my hall of residence at university.

God is still good when my software application crashes in the middle of a demonstration to a client.

God is still good when relationships get turned upside-down due to an illness that affects how the individual relates to others.

God is still good when the person I open up my heart to hurts me deeply.

God is still good when my nephew dies on the same day he is born.

God’s goodness is not dependant on the trials we face in this life.
His character does not change just because He allows bad things to happen to us.

How can we say that God is good in the midst of the storms of life?
Because He does not leave us to face it alone. He helps us through the painful periods in life, and gives us the grace and strength we need to endure it.

Job 2:10b - Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?

Safe in the arms of Jesus

Birthday bashment in Grenada

You only celebrate your thirty-fifth birthday once (you read that right - 35!!!) and it's not every year that you get to celebrate it in a country like Grenada, so I am grateful to God that He provided the opportunity for me to celebrate in the way I did.

My week of celebrations started last week Monday, which was a public holiday. Me and my 'Discover Grenada' crew journeyed to a river in Victoria where we spent the day enjoying the serenity and beauty of God's handiwork.

It was so relaxing listening to the water flowing over the rocks,
the wind blowing through the trees and
the birds singing their songs of praise to God

There were many beautiful flowering plants
which provided the perfect background for pictures :)

My first taste of Grenadian Brown down cooked on a fireside!

Sliding down into the river with the children

For my actual birthday weekend, I was blessed to have my brother and some of his wife's family, and my Pumkin to visit for the weekend.

The Trini posse arrives

 We had planned to take a catamaran cruise around the southern coast of Grenada, with one stop to snorkel at the Underwater Sculpture Park, and another stop at Hog Island. For the entire week the weather was unpredictable - raining heavily at intervals, and blazing sun at others. Coleen asked me what was our Plan B in the event of inclement weather, but I didn't have one.

My God who knows the desires of my heart really proved His love and care for me by providing us with perfect beach weather on my birthday!!!

Famalee!!!!!!

Enjoying the view aboard the catamaran

This was the vibe for the whole day...

Most creative birthday cake ever!!!

Modelling my birthday present from my Mummy :)

My Pumkin's first time snorkelling

Beautiful fishes feeding off the corals on the underwater sculptures

Smiling fishies!!!

Chilling on Hog Island with my girls :)

Serious oil down moment just before the sheep came
and stole a piece of breadfruit from Shiyanne's lunch

Cutting the cake with my Pumkin

Taking a dip in the cool waters off the island

Real live starfish found by my brother in Grand Anse 

Sunset at the end of a perfect day

 My birthday week ended with a curry lime. My efforts to introduce my Grenadian friends to Trini-style curry was met with initial enthusiasm, until dey realised it was pepper more dan buss up shut...

Before the pepper...

Dese chirren had us cracking up whole night with their antics

Family meets friends

One of the crazy fun games we played

Chilling on the porch after having our full of curry

Always a fun time when this bunch gets together...

Ending the evening in worship

I truly had an enjoyable time with my Grenadian and Trini family who were able to share my birthday weekend with me. Thanks to all who sent post cards, gave gifts, called to give their greetings (sorry for those whose calls I missed), sent emails, facebooks greetings and whatsapp messages - I truly appreciate the time and effort you took to touch base with me on my special day. I thank God for all who sacrificed and laboured to make this my best Grenadian birthday ever!!!!

New schools added to the ISCF family

At an ISCF Promotional in March I had mentioned the names of the schools where we had started ISCF groups. One of the young people in the audience asked, "What about Happy Hill?" When I responded that we had not yet found a teacher to be the sponsor of the group there, he suggested a teacher who was a pastor. So at the beginning of this term I met with the principal and, a couple minutes after bringing up the name of the teacher suggested by the student, the same teacher walked into the office! It turns out that he knew about ISCF, and was willing to serve as the sponsor for the group. The result? There is now an ISCF group at Happy Hill Secondary.

Discovering what ISCF is about

Engaging in a Getting to Know You activity

Praying after hearing the message about salvation

The sponsor at Wesley College was determined to get a group started there this term, even if it meant making the sacrifice to get to school at 7:30am! Many of the students get to school early, and it was felt that mornings were ideal to meet while they are fresh, and the meeting would help to put them in the right frame of mind for the day ahead. There have been different faces every week, but we are grateful that a start has been made with ISCF at Wesley College.

Charades at first ISCF meeting

Discussing what a Christian looks like

Efforts were made to start ISCF at Grenada Boys Secondary last term, but with many of the prospective members being heavily involved in athletics, that proved to be a challenge. With less distractions this term, we were able to have regular meetings. One of the students who has been most interested in ISCF a young man whose father is a Muslim, but who would like to ‘get out’ of Islam. He constantly asks the sponsor at GBSS if there will be a meeting every week, and was very disappointed when we missed a day due to the school being used as an exam center. We sourced a bible for him through the Gideon’s and we are praying that the ISCF meetings would be a source of encouragement and growth for him.

 

Discussing the topic: Should Christians participate in Carnival?

Explaining why Christians should stay away from Carnival

An introductory meeting was held at Westerhall Secondary last term, but it was a challenge to actually have meetings which were scheduled for after school. Sometimes school finished early so the students left, other times they simply forgot. This term we decided to work with those who were committed to staying back after school regardless. The four students who were faithful in attending the meetings this term agreed to form the Executive of the Westerhall ISCF group for the new academic year.

Guessing who is a Christian based on appearance

Student Executive at Westerhall Secondary School

Please keep all these students in your prayers, as they seek To Know Christ and To Make Him Known in their schools.