Wrong Expectations

A young man once called his mother, full of excitement, to tell her he had met the woman of his dreams. His mother, sharing in his joy, suggested he send her flowers and invite her over for a home-cooked meal. Everything seemed set for a perfect evening. But the next day, when his mother called to hear how it went, his tone had completely changed. “It was a disaster,” he said. Surprised, she asked if the woman had come over. “Yes,” he replied, “but she refused to cook!”

The humor in the story is obvious—but so is the lesson. The young man had expectations that were never communicated and certainly not reasonable. He assumed something that was never promised, and when reality didn’t match his expectation, he labeled the whole evening a failure.

How often do we do the same thing in life—and even with God? We build expectations based on our own thinking, our own desires, and our own assumptions. Then when things don’t go the way we imagined, we become discouraged, frustrated, or even disappointed with others. Sometimes, we even feel that way toward God, not because He failed, but because we expected something He never said He would do.

God never asks us to build our lives on assumptions—He calls us to build on truth. When our expectations are rooted in His Word, we find stability, peace, and clarity. But when they are rooted in self, we often find disappointment. The Christian life is not about getting others to meet our expectations—it’s about surrendering our expectations to God and learning to serve others with humility.