Skip to main content

“Often, it’s not low circumstances that make us lose hope— it’s low expectations.”

A thought by Ray Johnston (2014-05-13) from his book, The Hope Quotient: Measure It. Raise It. You'll Never Be the Same. (p.64). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

There are two words in that thought that have a way to control our view of life.  One we can’t control and the other we can.  One word is circumstances and the other is expectations.  We can’t control our circumstances but we can control our expectations.

Ray says, “Most of us are waiting on a change of circumstances, but what we really need is a change in perspective.”

He goes on, “We see this principle all over the Bible. Jerusalem was a disaster. What’s worse, nothing had gotten better for ninety-two years. Nehemiah showed up there, in a city that had a scorecard that looked like this: Years since the city wall was destroyed – 92. Years the people were stuck there – 92. Years of failure – 92. Years of broken dreams – 92.

“For ninety-two years, the ‘walled’ city of Jerusalem had no walls, and its people lived under the control of what I call the Four F’s— fear, failure, frustration, and fatigue. Then one guy arrived with a perspective not of what had been but of what it could become. After Nehemiah got there, the scorecard looked like this: Number of days to rebuild – 52.  Done. Game over.

“In just fifty-two days the people rebuilt a wall that they themselves had said for ninety-two years couldn’t be built. What changed? One guy arrived with raised expectations and the city was forever changed.”

Ray then said, “When you are the person who arrives on the scene with the right perspective and higher expectations, everything can change.”


So, what is it you hope and expect to change?
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Lie 2: The more you worry about it, the better your odds of avoiding it."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book,   Winning the War on Worry    (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Here is another lie that the Enemy uses with us. And Louie says, "This is a tricky lie. Yes, we often have cause for concern and preparation. But the Enemy wants you to believe that if you worry or fret over a certain outcome long enough, you can keep something bad from happening." But this is so important to realize. He says, "The reality is worrying has never once prevented something negative from happening. Planning might. Prayer has. But worry never will." He continues, "The Enemy tells you that by worrying about a situation (or every situation) you can make your tomorrow better. Really, worry just robs you of today. Jesus implored us: 'I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body mor...
Post a Comment
Read more

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)   Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle?   Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...
Post a Comment
Read more

"To put it simply, worry isn’t just a bad habit."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book,   Winning the War on Worry    (p. 1). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Ok, that is interesting. Louie says, "Worry is an Enemy tactic—a strategy built on lies that are designed to rob you of peace and tear your mind to pieces. "That’s why it’s crucial that you are able to spot the lies worry tells." He goes on, "Not long ago while on safari in South Africa, Shelley and I were really wanting to see a leopard in the wild. Early and late on our game drives our eyes were set on every tree limb, bush, grassy hill, and river path in hopes of finding one of several leopards that were known to frequent this particular area. But here’s the thing: leopards aren’t bright orange with tall, sparkly antennae on their backs. They are designed to blend into the surroundings, like the bark of a baobab tree where they might be lounging on one of its mighty branches. "In the same way, ...
Post a Comment
Read more