TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL (SUNDAY 16th August 2026)
“Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.”
Psalms 37:1-5 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 228TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF STRATEGIC VICTORIES!
We Bless the God of Heaven and Earth Who Has Counted Us Worthy to See Another Sunday. We bless the LORD for all His mercies, Kindness, defense, marvelous deeds, and great grace.
Today we want to look at few things that might build our faith. First let me say something about the expectations of the righteous. The Bible says they shall not be cut off. They play a major role in the manifestation of what God wants to do in the lives of the righteous.
Understand that, when God want to do great things among His people, it’s important that they learn to build their expectations within His will and ways. If they build them outside His will and ways, He will still do what He wants to do but they will not see it in their lives.
Failed expectations can destroy anyone. The Bible says, the expectation of the righteous shall not be cut off, because it is very dangerous for them to be cut off. The reason they cannot be cut off is simple; they line up with God’s will and ways, and God’s will and ways must not fail, else destinies will be wasted.
Meaning, any expectation that does not line up with God’s will and ways, will be cut off. In other words, the expectation of the righteous are expectations that falls in line with God’s will and ways; that is why they are bound to come to pass. When they fail it means God has failed and God does and cannot fail. But the expectations of the wicked are expectations that do not fall in line with God’s will or ways.
THE DIVINE DECREE OVER THEM IS THAT “THEY SHALL NOT COME TO PASS. THEY SHALL BE CUT OFF.”
The Bible says,
“For the upright will dwell in the land, and the blameless will remain in it; but the wicked will be cut off from the earth, and the unfaithful will be uprooted from it.”
Proverbs 2:21-22 NKJV
If God does not allow the wicked to take root on earth or remain, how much more their expectations. That is why it’s not safe to build your expectations outside His perfect will for your life. It is very important to build our expectations in God’s will and ways. If we do not, we will be disappointed, and when we are disappointed, it can open our minds to things that make us sick. The Bible says:
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.”
Proverbs 13:12 NKJV
Sadly, people who built their expectations certain things said to them, and even sowed seeds into certain prophecies to have glorious years are in terrible states. Some of these victims allowed their money-controlled preachers and their personal carnality to inspire and carve out expectations for them.
They got their expectations built on things that were not in GOD’s will or ways hence crashing in faith.
I have heard how Scriptures have been misinterpreted and false or demonic inspired prophetic similitude used, to coerce innocent souls to believe that some things (that God knows will never happen) will come to pass in their lives before the end of a year.
There is no place in the Bible where a man took his carnal expectation to God through prayer, fasting, or sacrificial giving, and have God rubber stamped it with a miracle. Never!
INDEED, OUR DEVOTIONAL TEXT TODAY SCREAMS “NO” TO THAT.
A major Highlight in it says,
“Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.”
Psalms 37:3-4 NKJV
Sadly, when people quote or preach from this scripture, they forget the first parts and just log on to the last sentence that says, “He shall give you the desires of your heart.” And that is the sentence upon which every failed expectation in Church today is built.
We forget that the heart of a man that has not been processed and filled with the Holy Spirit is desperately wicked. God does not grant the desires of such a heart. And when the Bible says “He shall give you the desires of your heart” it does not mean God will grant us whatever we desire or fulfill whatever we expect that He fulfill.
It simple means, if we do everything that precede the heart-desire sentence in Psalm 37:1-5 (trusting in the LORD, doing good, dwelling in the land or place of His will for our lives, feeding on God’s faithfulness, and delighting ourselves in Him), the Spirit of the LORD in us will shape what our hearts should desire and align it with God’s will.
In other words, God will grant us what our hearts should desire. It is the desires He grants our hearts to desire that will be granted, not the ones we conceive of ourselves. I hope you understand me!
Expectations must therefore be built on what God grants our hearts to desire.
The last part of our devotional text says, “commit your way to the LORD, trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass.” This is not referring to our “own carnal ways” but the very ways and plans of the LORD that we have made our ways and plans.
THOSE ARE THE WAYS OR PLANS TO COMMIT TO THE LORD IN PRAYER, IF WE WANT OUR EXPECTATIONS TO COME TO PASS.
So, from all these scriptures it’s clear that God does not want man to be seen in man, because man was not originally outsourced from man. Man was outsourced from God. God wants God to be seen in man. He never designed that man be seen in man; hence did not design that our carnal expectations be fulfilled.
He only designed that expectations built on divine desires (that are granted to our hearts to desire) be granted.
So, if any of our life expectations will not be built on desires granted our hearts by God’s Spirit, but on some things some prophets or prophetesses prophesied to us, we should be rest assured that none of them will be fulfilled. God takes delight in fulfilling our expectations, but they must be in tune or line with His will and ways.
As we embrace this glorious week, beginning with a beautiful Sunday service, may Heaven’s glow beam in our spirits. May our hearts react and push away anything that does not fall in line with God’s will and ways for our lives, in Jesus precious name! AMEN!
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY
“Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret — it only causes harm. For evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.
For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, but it shall be no more.
But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. The wicked plots against the just, and gnashes at him with his teeth.
The Lord laughs at him, for He sees that his day is coming. The wicked have drawn the sword.”
Psalms 37:7-14 NKJV
