{"id":4708,"date":"2014-03-04T05:00:08","date_gmt":"2014-03-04T11:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hungryformore.org\/?p=4708"},"modified":"2014-03-04T05:00:08","modified_gmt":"2014-03-04T11:00:08","slug":"guilty-expectations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hungryformore.org\/guilty-expectations\/","title":{"rendered":"Guilty Expectations"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"guilt2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I took the whole \u201ctrain-up-a-child\u201d thing very literally.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"img019\"<\/p>\n

When I vacuumed, two-year-old Hannah slung a child-sized broom around the room.<\/span><\/p>\n

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When I dusted, she took a Kleenex and tired to wear a hole into her designated spot on the coffee table.<\/span><\/p>\n

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When I washed the dishes, her little 24-month old arms drug a chair next to me, so that she could slop water onto the floor from her side of the divided sink.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Okay, so Hannah wasn\u2019t much house-help at this age. In fact, she made far more messes than she cleaned and her attempts actually lengthened my tasks at hand. But, I praised her for the attempt rather than the completion. After all, she was<\/strong> only two.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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What would you think had you found me standing over Hannah, barking orders at her to get the full-sized vacuum into all the corners?<\/span><\/p>\n

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What if I had withheld her food until she perfectly rid the entire living room of dust?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Or continued to dump the dishes she had inadequately washed back into her dishwater until her job met my standards?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Can you imagine the guilt-ridden trauma Hannah would now be dealing with as an adult? And the kind of relationship she and I would have?<\/span><\/p>\n

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And yet, somehow, we have this unexpressed view of our God as a task master – complete with a stern eye toward perfection.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

No matter what He asks us to do. we struggle with a vague sense of inadequacy and guilt.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But the simple truth is:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our ability to accomplish His work on our own is no more suited to perfection<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

than a two-year-old is in cleaning house.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He is just way different than anything we\u2019ve ever experienced (Psalm 50:21).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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He doesn\u2019t expect us to \u201cget \u2018r done,\u201d while He sternly looks on. No, He can \u201cestimate the desire even when the execution is defective\u201d<\/em> (H.D.M. Spence).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Or as Hannah Whitall Smith says: \u201cIt\u2019s your purpose God looks at, not your feelings about that purpose\u201d<\/em> (Chapter 13, Hungry For More: Feasting through the Word).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Guilt squirts out because we are tightly squeezing onto<\/span><\/p>\n

our own expectations, <\/span><\/p>\n

rather than asking God for His.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Father,<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019m tired of feeling guilty and inadequate. Reveal to me Your truth about my works and help me see them as You do. I leave today in Your Hands. In Jesus\u2019 Name, Amen.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I took the whole \u201ctrain-up-a-child\u201d thing very literally. \u00a0 When I vacuumed, two-year-old Hannah slung a child-sized broom around the room. \u00a0 When I dusted, she took a Kleenex and tired to wear a hole into her designated spot on the coffee table. \u00a0 When I washed the dishes, her little 24-month old arms drug a chair next to me, … <\/p>\n

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