Raising Your Level of Expectancy

An old adage purports that if you want to be successful, you must follow your dreams. While I’d never suggest that anyone should aban­don his or her dreams, the truth is, your life will follow your expecta­tions. What you expect is what you will get. If you dwell on positive thoughts, your life will move in that direction; if you continually think negative thoughts, you will live a negative life. If you expect defeat, failure, or mediocrity, your subconscious mind will make sure that you lose, fail, or sabotage every attempt to push above average. That’s why one of the key elements to enlarging your vision is raising your level of expectancy. You have to change your thinking before you can ever change your living.


Program Your Mind for Success

It’s important that you program your mind for success. That won’t happen automatically. Each day, you must choose to live with an atti­tude that expects good things to happen to you. The Bible says, “Set your mind and keep it set on the higher things.”’ When you get up in the morning, the first thing you should do is set your mind in the right direction. Say something such as “This is going to be a great day. God is guiding and directing my steps. His favor is surrounding me. Good­ness and mercy are following me. I’m excited about today!” Start your day with faith and expectancy, and then go out anticipating good things. Expect circumstances to change in your favor. Expect people to go out of their way to help you. Expect to be at the right place at the right time.


Expect things to change in your favor

Perhaps you work in sales, and you are scheduled to give an impor­tant presentation. You’re really hoping to snag that big contract. Don’t be surprised if you hear a voice whispering in your mind, You don’t have a chance. This is going to he a lousy day for you. Nothing good ever happens to you. You might as well not even get your hopes up. That way, when you don’t get that great contract, you won’t be too disappointed.

Don’t listen to such lies! God wants you to get your hopes up. We can’t even have faith without hope. The Bible says, “Faith is the sub­stance of things hoped for,” and one definition of that sort of hope is “confident expectancy.” We should get up in the morning confidently expecting the favor of God. Start expecting doors of opportunity to open for you. Expect to excel in your career. Expect to rise above life’s challenges.


God usually meets us at our level of expectancy

God usually meets us at our level of expectancy. If you don’t de­velop the habit of expecting good things to come your way, then you’re not likely to receive anything good. If you don’t expect things to get better, they probably won’t. If all you expect is more of the same, that’s all you’re going to have. Our expectations set the boundaries for our lives. Jesus said, “According to your faith... be it done to you.” In other words, “Have what your faith expects.”

Some people tend to expect the worst. They go around with that “poor-old-me mentality,” always negative, always depressed. “God, why don’t You do something about my situation?” they grouse. “This is not fair!” They have what their faith expects.

Other people honestly feel so overwhelmed by their troubles, they have difficulty believing that anything good could happen to them. You hear them saying things such as, “Oh, I’ve got so many problems. My marriage is in trouble. My children won’t do right. My business isn’t doing well. My health is going downhill. How can I live with en­thusiasm? How do you expect me to get up and say this is going to be a good day, when I have this big mess on my hands?”

Friend, that’s what faith is all about. You have to start believing that good things are coming your way, and they will!

What are you expecting in life? Are you anticipating good things or bad things, significance or mediocrity? Are you expecting things to change in your favor? Are you expecting to experience the good­ness of God? Or are you allowing your circumstances or feelings to dull your enthusiasm for life and imprison you in a negative frame of mind?