I came across this principle, “We don’t rise to the level of our expectations; we fall to the level of our training.” It really got me thinking. To expect is the prospect of good to come. As believers, we can certainly look to the future with hope. Our future does not solely rest on us. After all, God is not looking for big people but people who desire a big God. In other words, as followers of Christ, when we surrender to the Lord and walk in step with His Spirit, He will do big things in and through us. God’s workings are not limited by our personal limitations but by our willingness, participation, and desire for the workings of a loving, all-powerful, and limitless God in our lives.
Training speaks of the skill, knowledge, and experience acquired by one who trains. Training takes effort on our part. We can expect to become physically strong, but if we don’t work out, it won’t happen. We can desire to be awake and alert, but if we don’t get enough sleep, it won’t happen. We can expect to live with peace, power, and wisdom, but if we don’t study and apply God’s word to our lives and rely on and follow Christ, it won’t happen.
Yes, Our Lord is the one who has promised abundant flourishing lives for those who come to faith in Him (John 10:10). Further, it’s true that God never lies (Hebrews 6:18). However, this does not negate our part in cooperating with Him. In other words, there are promises of God conditioned on our faithfulness and trust in Him.
Our expectations rest on who God is and our partnership with Him. Therefore, we need to keep a soft heart. We read in Mark that the disciples did not understand the miracle of the loaves because their heart was hardened (Mark 6:52). We don’t want to miss what God has for us or have the ability to see what He is doing by having hardened hearts. We need to maintain a submissive heart towards God. This entails desiring God’s will to be our will and living accordingly.
We also need to believe, trust, have faith. Hebrews 3:12-13 speaks of the devastating effect of a heart of unbelief. Such a heart deceives us so that the truth seems like a lie, and lies seem like truth. If we live in unbelief, we cannot expect to see the promises of God in our lives. This does not mean that we are perfect, but that we are being perfected. We grow in belief. There is an ancient proverb that states. “Don’t fear growing slowly; fear standing still.” Be honest with God. Sometimes, we need to pray, “I believe, help my unbelief (Mark 9:24). He will answer that prayer.
We need to act in faith. Faith is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). I have heard it said, “Faith believes that you already have what you’re hoping for; it’s pulling God’s promises from the spirit realm into the physical realm.” Therefore, we walk in the promises of God as we follow Him. After all, “faith apart from works is dead” (James 2:26). Genuine faith is evidenced by obedience to God.
We need to grow in Christ through practicing the spiritual disciplines. We are called to step out in faith as we grow in knowing God and make Him known by sharing His love and message with others. We must focus on what we can do while trusting in what God has done, is doing, and is yet to do in and through us. We don’t expect to rise merely to a certain level because we expect it, but also because we train, growing in our knowledge of God through His Word, developing our gifts and abilities so graciously provided for us by our Lord, and gaining experience of being faithful and of God’s faithfulness as we obediently walk with Him. Then, just wait and see the heights our Lord will take us. Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone)!