E. P. S.

Today's reading: Job 29-30

"I thought, Surely I will due surrounded by my family after a long, good life." Job 29:18 NLT

Many of us are aware of the helpful travel assistant, G.P.S. It keeps us going in the right direction because it 'always' knows just where we are. You take a turn off the recommended path and it quickly 'recalculates' to direct you to the same destination.

This past week, and this morning's verse reminded me of it, I was introduced to a not so helpful system that several of us have self-installed--E.P.S. This Expectational Positioning System keeps our head and heart focused on the 'where we should be because of where we think we should be'.

Here is what the author Ann Voskamp says about it...

'Expectations can slay any relationship, especially with God. And an Expectational Positioning System has never failed to eventually position the soul in a bit of hell of its own making--with its expectation to at least keep pace with, or better yet surpass, someone else, anyone else. Strange, how you cannot feel content in your heart whenever it feel like you aren't where you feel you should be, wanted to be or expected to be.'

I have to constantly keep track of which positioning system I am allowing my feelings to follow. If I am trusting God completely, I can trust Him completely. If I am leaning towards how I think things should be, ought to be because of my diligent checklist of accomplishments or I have planned to be, I'm going to be sorely and surely let down.