06/09/2026
Here's an early edition of the Focus this week - thanks for stopping by...đź’–
By Dick Burckhart (c) 2026
“What Did You Expect”
Part 1
Quite often, our lives don’t turn out the way we expected they would. For some of us, life turns out much better than we expected, but for others, life seems to bring them nothing but troubles. I suppose for many of us, it’s somewhat of a blend of good and not so good, with much of the latter coming in our “golden years.”
As a senior citizen (81 next month), I am surrounded by many other seniors in my condo complex, and when talking to many of them, it feels like I’m in a church service, since many of them give “organ recitals,” talking about their multiple dysfunctional body parts! We have all come to a general conclusion - life is not fair! We have also concluded that for those of us who are Christians, our hope is not found here on earth, but is in our eternal hope in Christ Jesus.
In John chapters 14-16, Jesus explains to His disciples what is about to happen to Him, and how He is sending the Holy Spirit to dwell within them to lead and guide them, comfort and help them. In John 14:27 He said: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” Then in John 16:33 He said: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” He was telling them (and us) that we WILL have troubles in life, and it’s only IN Him that will we find true peace!
For many of the Jews, the baby Jesus who became the man Jesus, was not at all what they expected when they were told He was the Messiah! They expected a mighty conquering warrior to come and restore God’s kingdom here on earth in Israel, but God had a much better plan! So often, when we pray earnestly for a dire situation, we expect Jesus to come like a mighty warrior and rescue us, but many times, He doesn’t come in the way we imagined, and not in the timeline we had hoped for, because He has other plans. So then, what should we expect as we wait?
Stay tuned… Amen!
