TSP DAILY DEVOTIONAL
MANAGING EXPECTATIONS
12TH MARCH 2020
Dr. Phil Ransom-Bello
KEY SCRIPTURE/MEMORY VERSE: Psalms 62:5 (NKJV)
My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my expectation is from Him.
There is something so remarkable about paying attention. It’s both a posture and a choice. That’s why the decision of what to pay attention to is not one that happens organically. Your attention is either on the promise or the problem.
And so, you must learn how to deliberately pay attention to the promise and not the devil or the problem.
When you read the New Testament’s description of Abraham in Romans 4:20, it seems like he did no wrong but if you think about it, Abraham actually went to sleep with another woman to help the promise of God (just like many of us do when we feel the promise is taking too long) and then he gave birth to a problem the world hasn’t fully recovered from today.
But here’s what I realized- It wasn’t that Abraham had such great faith, it was that he was a man of little unbelief. He gave no room for unbelief in his heart.
It’s wonderful to want to be a man/woman of great faith, crushing mountains but it is better to be one who like Abraham, kept looking at/thinking of the promise. That is how to manifest great faith.
Look, I can never see myself as disadvantaged not because I don’t go through trials or experience challenges but because my heart is fixed on the promise so there is no space for unbelief even in the face of the problem.
Do you know you can pray fervently but still have room for unbelief?
In fact, it’s possible to sweat profusely and declare scriptures in prayer and still have unbelief in your heart. Why?
It’s because of your default expectation!
Listen to me dear believer, your first line of defence is the constant expectation of good!
A constant expectation of the manifestation of the promise not the problem.
You must train your expectations!
Train your expectations to be grounded on what you KNOW and not what you FEEL.
Don’t be that Christian who lives on highs and lows, charged up when you hear the promise today but back to square zero tomorrow. Regardless of the problem, you need to be emotionally stable. I’m not saying don’t cry when you feel the pain but it’s possible to cry and yet your heart is intact, postured on the promise, like a rock that cannot be moved (Psalms 16:8).
Every beliver needs to undergo the training of managing your emotions/expectations.
Because if you can’t master them, then you can’t master life.
REFLECTION
What do I do when I feel the manifestation of the promise has taken too long?
DECLARATION
-I am born of God. And because God is in the midst of me, I shall not be moved.
-I have the right expectations. A constant expectation of good.
-Daily, I am careful to maintain the right posture and choice of attention. I pay attention to the promise and not the problem.
-I am yielded to the discipline of training my expectations. I live from the place of emotional stability and I conquer life everyday.
-As I guard my heart with word-of-God thoughts, there is no room for unbelief.
-Today, I enjoy daily benefits and testimonies abound for me because the Gospel works. Hallelujah!
HEARING BY THE WORD
(Recommended Listening)
Listen to The Believers Heart – Instruct Your Heart >> Dr. Phil by The StandPoint Church on #SoundCloud
