A large part of our emotional reaction to experiences in life comes down to the expectations we have prior to the experience itself. More to the point, our reactions are largely based on whether our expectations are met or unmet, and whether we think much about it or not, we have expectations for pretty much every circumstance we encounter.
For example, when you drive through Chick-fil-A, you expect there could be a long line, so you’re not overly disappointed when you encounter one. You also expect the line will move fairly quickly because this isn’t your first chicken rodeo. It usually does, so again, your expectations are in sync with reality. Finally, you expect your food to come out hot, tasty, and accurate in terms of what you ordered and paid for. However, what happens when you get home and find that they only gave you two waffle fries rather than the three you ordered? Understandably, you’re not happy about it because you expected to receive what you paid for.
What about our worship gatherings? What are your expectations when you gather with your fellow saints to meet with the Lord? Are you expecting the service to start / stop at a particular time? Are you expecting certain song choices, musical styles, or volume levels? Maybe you expect the preacher will speak about (or stay away from) certain topics and resist the urge to seemingly drone on about the things you’re not overly interested in. More importantly, what happens when your expectations are unmet? If you’ve ever thought (or even said), “I just didn’t get anything out of that service,” why do you think that is? Likely, it had to do with your expectations.
Flipping it around, sometimes I wonder what God expects when we gather in His name to meet with Him. Fortunately, I don’t have to wonder very long because his Word is full of answers. Some of the key themes appear to be gratitude, reverence, joy, excitement, holy fear, and passion for Him. For example, Psalm 95 tells us that we should come into His presence with thanksgiving, singing to Him, and making a joyful noise! Hebrews 12:8 tells us to be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken and to offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe. Psalm 96:9 says we are to worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness; trembling before Him.
The Bible describes God as a Father who longs to gather with His children, and longs for them to be excited about gathering with Him. After all, David danced before the Lord with all his might and the Bible says that David was “a man after my own heart” (Acts 13:22) and that “the Lord loved David” (1Kings 15:4). Jesus said God is seeking those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23). He is not pleased when His children are merely lukewarm toward Him (Rev 3:16) but desires those who are fervent, which literally means glowing hot. He also responds to the fervent prayers of the righteous according to James 5:16 (KJV).
The more I study the Bible and learn about our merciful Father, the more I think that maybe our expectations aren’t all that important, but rather it is God’s expectations we ought to be concerned with. Perhaps, we should ask whether or not God was pleased by our gatherings. Was he given the honor, reverence, and glory that He deserves? Was his name lifted high? Was His Word handled skillfully and carefully? Were our hearts fervently engaged and excited to be in His presence? Was meeting with Him a priority? Were we eager to be in the sanctuary when the service started? Was He the main focus of all that took place? Not only do I believe these are the better questions to be asking, but I believe this line of thinking will help us to set our own appropriate expectations so that our times of corporate worship will not disappoint… Him.