Lose the Unrealistic Expectations.....

....gain real hope.
Excerpts from Arterburn (2007) What have you got to lose?:

One problem many people have with Christianity is that they are offered some false promises if they ever surrender their lives to Jesus. They are told that everything changes and happiness is the result, but this is simply not true.

Reevaluating our expectations is both necessary and an important part of accepting reality. Here are some common, unrealistic expectations to reconsider:

1. I must be perfect for God to work in me.
Holding this thought, we tend to cover up problems and be dishonest about our struggles because we think God is looking for perfection in order to work.

God sees our imperfections and is able to transform us anyway!

2. I've screwed up so many times it's just too late.
It's never too late with God.

When you accept guilt and shame from your past, you basically tell God that His sacrifice didn't matter.

[God says], "I will take your failures and build your future."

3. I can do this alone.
Perhaps this is the mother of all unrealistic expectations. God uses connections....

These first three posts all fall under the umbrella of the first key to "loosing burdens": surrender. In summary, (1) life is too burdensome trying to control everything, (2) we are unable to go it alone, and now (3) we learn that unrealistic expectations often trip us up.

Okay, I get that. But, for some reason, these things aren't sinking in. I would not for one minute claim that my life is totally surrendered to God, but at the same time I don't feel that I struggle with these truths. I mean, I know I have very little control over things....I fully accept the grace that God gives.....and I don't think that my expectations of Christianity are too out of whack. I know that God forgives me and that I don't have to be perfect for God to use me. Are you with me?

I am trying to be very honest. So, why can't I claim that my life is fully surrendered to God? How would you diagnose my condition? Come to think of it, I know very few people whose lives are fully surrendered to God. That is not a slam on my many Christian friends....this speaks more of the reality that I see. Well, how about you? How would you diagnose your aversion to a life completely surrendered to God?