Expecting the Best

“But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the glad tidings (the Gospel), so we speak not to please men but to please God, Who tests our hearts [expecting them to be approved].” 1 Thessalonians 2:4 (emphasis mine)

“Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].” 1 Corinthians 13:7 (emphasis mine)

What is my expectation of people? How can I knowing humanity (after all I am a member of it) believe the best of them? Even Proverbs 20:6 brings up the lack of faithfulness among mankind.  So then, how do I deal with the reality of humanity and still have the right expectation? This is what I asked God and He showed me this is done by looking for and focusing on the good things in people.

The devil is the accuser of the brethren, the fault finder, but God nurtures the good things in us, expects the best from us, and leads us to repentance with His loving-goodness.

 How do I expect the best from people? By seeing how God does this with me.  It is critical to know how God thinks about a matter, because until I accept His way of thinking about it and believe it as truth and receive it from Him I can’t think that way or behave that way toward others. I can only give to others what I, myself, have first received from God.

And because God expects the best from me, I expect the best from others and am, as 1 Corinthians says, ever ready to believe the best of every person.  And what if they fail? Then I pray for them, and expect God to work on their behalf while keeping my focus on the good things I see in them. Admittedly, seeing the best in people requires more searching with some than with others but that in itself is an important point. I should be aggressively looking for the good.

Faults we all have in abundance, and the world and devil are quick to point them out to us often, but as a Christian I should be a treasure seeker, not a fault finder.

I’m not saying that we should ignore destructive behaviors we see others engaged in or never offer loving correction when needed, certainly God does neither, but what I am saying is that while sometimes it is necessary to warn others of sinful behavior , we must always cherish and look for the good qualities in people, nurture those, and delight in even their smallest steps of progress. 

I know for certain that God does all that with me. While I tend to focus on my faults and failures, He is delighted with me and thrilled at my progress in the work He is doing to mold me in the image of His Son.  He never focuses on my failures, reminds me of them, or berates me for them. And I very much want to be like God.

As one, who in the natural, would be a fault finder, I am greatly challenged to give up my carnal way of looking at myself and other people and instead be a treasure seeker, like my Father.

Oh God, thank you for revealing this to me. We both know I have no power to change on my own and unless You do this work, unless You help me, I will stay the same. I don’t want that, God! I lay down my way and repent of my carnal thinking. Please change me, Holy Spirit and thank You so much for challenging me.