2. April 2026
Unmet Expectations
As a teacher I have expectations of my students. I have a group of 3 students in my second block that repeatedly push me to where I am angry. They are VERY Loud; they push back on every rule in the classroom. “Why can’t I go to the other classroom?” “Why can’t I go to the bathroom right now?” “Why can’t I swear?” “Why do we have to stay here for lunch?” They try to leave the classroom every chance they can, and when they do they wander the hall, play in the bathroom and then I hear from administration that my student is wondering or causing ruckus in another classroom. I can’t trust them because they just do what they want whenever they want without any concern for others or consequences. They debate any authority. Today at lunch one of them wanted to question again and another teacher looked at him and said, “Why don’t you be the student and let me do my job as teacher or you can discuss this with the principal.” Last week one of the girls was upset I told her “no” to leaving the classroom and said, “You can’t keep a gangster down.” I just smiled, “are you the gangster?”
Why does their behavior lead me to feel angry? Unmet expectations cause anger by creating a gap between desired outcomes and reality, often leading to resentment and conflict. I have an expectation for them, to follow the school rules and they have the belief they want to have as much fun as possible.
God often uses our unmet expectations as a spiritual growth lesson. John the Baptist expect a messianic judgement and he instead was jailed and sent his disciples to Jesus asking “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Matthew 11:3). His expectation wasn’t met and he wondered. But Jesus patiently answered “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” (Matthew 11:4-5)
The Disciples expected Jesus to overthrow Rome, but Jesus told them about His suffering and death. (Acts1:6)
Paul expected God to remove a painful problem but God said His grace is sufficient for you.
2 Corinthians 12:7-9 “Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
There was a lesson in the unmet expectation. Paul said “to keep me from being conceited.”
Elijah expected a revival after his victory on Mount Carmel, but he instead faced a death threat from Jezebel. He was despondent. But God changed his perspective. (1 Kings 19:4)
“Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.”He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God”
I love this verse, he needed a nap and some food…and sometimes that can change your perspective.
Then God appeared to Elijah and told him to stand on the mountain as the presence of the Lord passes by. There were winds, earthquakes, fire but God wasn’t there. He came in the gentle whisper where he called Elijah and promised to save the 7000 people in Israel who had not bowed to Baal.
What is the lesson? God’s gentle whisper chanced the expectation. No there wasn’t going to be revival, but God would save those who worshipped Him.
I need to change my perspective. What is God teaching me? What is something I could change? God loves me no matter how many times I fail Him. I need to show love to these students as well. That doesn’t mean I allow them to break the rules. It means I enforce with love and gentleness, not the anger of unmet expectations.