*WISDOM FOR TODAY.*
*MANAGE YOUR EXPECTATIONS.*
*Scripture Treasure.*
1 Kings 21:17-19, 23-24.
*And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,*
*Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it.*
*And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying,* *Thus saith the Lord, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.*
*And of Jezebel also spake the Lord, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.*
*Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat.*
*Insight and Highlight.*
Correct yourself. Work on yourself in order to avoid and avert failures and eventualities.
*Scripture Commentaries.*
God told Elijah to tell both Ahab and Jezebel what would become of them because of the evil they had done to Naboth, 1 Kgs 21:1-13.
They both had the opportunity to avoid God's indignation.
Ahab attempted to seek God in order to prevent His judgment from happening. He attempted to establish in advance what he could do to appease God's anger, but he could not successfully manage God's eventual expectation of what would become of him and his wicked wife.
God said of the wicked, *Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.*(Isaiah 3:11)
Eccl 8:13 says, *Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.*
Is 48:22 says *There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.*
Prov 10:28 says *....but the expectation of the wicked shall perish.*
Though God does not want the wicked to perish (2 Pet 3:9), there is nothing expected by the wicked, the abominable, and the unrepentant
but God's judgment, but most of them refuse to do anything about it
Prov 29:7 says *....the wicked do not care at all.*
What are you doing to manage the expectation of Heaven or Hell?
What are you doing to manage your expectations in relationship and marriage?
God was angry with Ahab and Jezebel. Judgment was imminent, and expectations of this were high.
Ahab managed this expectation in a way, so *.....he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.*, 1 Kgs 21:27.
God saw his humility and told Elijah to tell him that *....because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house.*, 1 Kgs 21:29.
Ahab's immediate humility would turn out not to be of true repentance. What followed showed that he only wanted relief from God's indignation.
This was so because he did not change from his evil ways. He remained unrepentant and had to die the same death that God pronounced on him (1 Kgs 22:37-38).
Jezebel did not care. There was no record of repentance, so she also died just the way God said she would, 2 Kgs 9: 30-37
God had already spoken of Ahab and Jezebel saying, *.....there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.*
*And he did very abominably in following idols,....'*, 1 Kgs 21:25-26.
In life, we must be willing to manage our expectations.
In Ahab and Jezebel's case, evil expectations were before them, but what did they do to prevent these evil judgments that were passed upon them?
People who do good are rewarded with evil. How much more evil do you expect in return for those who do evil? (Psalm 109:5)
If you do evil and people are telling you that you will reap what you sow but you care less, you have failed to manage your future expectations well.
God knew who both Ahab and Jezebel were.
Most of God's pronounced judgments are not absolute or irreversible (Exd 32: 14, Jonah 3:10) if we repent. We must know that His pronounced judgment is to warn us to amend our ways.
If God goes ahead with His judgment over anyone, it is not God's fault. It is the person's fault. His sin has reached a point of no return, and judgment must be served.
So, His pronounced judgment are often opportunities granted us that if only we could hear what the Spirit is saying, God would not go ahead with His judgment.
Ahab and Jezebel, however, ignored it, and they got their just deserts. Just as God said, they would die, so they died.
As you walk and work with God to carefully manage your expectations in Him to give you your expected end
so also work with Him to carefully manage His pronounced judgment on evil doers so that they will not come upon you, Deut 28:15-68.
*Remorse Corner.*
Life is about good and bad expectations. Both need careful management.
*Call to Word action.*
If you do not want your expectations cut off, you must carefully manage them.
Prov 23:18 *For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.
*The Christian clarion duty.*
Do not be careless! There are times, if not all the time, that God’s fulfillment of His and our expectations often requires our cooperation, 2 Chro 7:14-16.
*Prayer.*
Lord, help me to carefully manage my expectations. On one hand, to ensure to achieve a successful outcome and on the other hand to prevent potential dangers to my success in Jesus name.
Good morning all, and have a blessed day today.
God bless you.
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