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“Expect Great Thing from God…Attempt Great Things for God”

 

The above quote is from the great missionary, William Carey. I visited his church in England about twelve years ago. I had heard that quote before, but it connected differently sitting in his church and staring at a wall (picture above) with the quote and his story. There is just something that adds to the power of something when you see it with your own eyes. This quote has been running through my head ever since the close of service on Easter Sunday. So often in church world, the week after Easter is a bit of a letdown. The build up to such a great weekend with Good Friday Services, an Easter outreach, and Easter Sunday morning. But why does it have to be a letdown? The same Jesus that we celebrated during Easter is still resurrected and we still get to focus our worship on Him. So, what if we focused ort attention of expecting great things from God. I would imagine that what we expect from God is in proportion to how big we believe God is. If you see a truly awesome and amazingly big God, then you probably expect greater things from Him, but if you do not see God as awesome and amazingly big, then you might not think God can come through with your expectation. I also know that your mood or current state of mind affects how you view God as well. Wherever you are on that spectrum, we need to be constantly reminded that God is the One who spoke and everything was created. One of my favorite verses is Colossians 1:17 which says, “And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Just let the awesomeness of that verse set in. Before all things and He holds all things together. That is truly amazing! So, since our God is truly amazing, we should expect great things from Him.

The second part of that quote is closely related to the first. The size of what we attempt for God also depends on how big we think God is. We are not trapeze artists who are flying around without a net underneath us. All throughout scripture, we are told repeatedly that God is “there” with us. We are challenged to be bold and courageous because God is with us. We are told He will never leave us or forsake us. God is for us! When we believe that, we will expect and attempt great things. So, we are just a little more than one fourth of the way through 2026 with almost nine months till the end of the year. What are you expecting from God that only God can do and what are you going to attempt for God knowing you expect great things from Him? I pray that whatever your answer is, you trust God for great things! Let’s be a people who individually and collectively expect great things from God and attempt great things for God.