At the centre

Sometimes it can feel like everyone has expectations of us. Our parents want us to be successful. Our friends want our attention. Our tutor wants us to knock that essay out of the park. People's expectations can weigh us down, and if we spend all our time trying to please people, we'll never be free. If we're constantly trying to fulfil other people's expectations, as well as our own, we'll end up crumbling because we didn't accomplish all they or we wanted. We could make a list of priorities and number them from one to ten, but that could stress us more because priorities can change within minutes.

Stop. Consider this... Everything was made through God: 'without him nothing was made that has been made' (John 1:3 NIV). To find balance in our daily lives, we must put God at the centre of everything we do. Our number one priority should be him. And that priority shouldn't change.

Even if it sounds a bit clichd, it's the truth. The only way to anchor ourselves in the face of a bazillion expectations is if our No.1 aim is to live for, and with, the Constant One. With God at the root and centre of everything, the pressure to decide which human expectations to carry becomes less and less.



So what now? Think about someone who's expected a lot from you. Even if it's difficult, thank them for what you learned from them, and take them a gift, if you can. Then, thank God that he has taken the load of expectation from you.





— SCRIPTURE —

'Through him all things were made.' John 1:3 NIV
— SOULFOOD —

S of Sol 1-4, Matt 25:41-46, Ps 3 , Pro 21:4-8