Dwight Fletcher | Your work expectations matter

In our series on Thriving at Work, we’ve been talking a lot about the actions we need to take to experience fulfilment in our jobs. We mentioned prayer, working with integrity, seeing Jesus as our true boss, and having an attitude of worship. One area that we often minimise, however, is our expectation of hope. Often, we’re doing all the right things, but because we have had so many bad experiences in the past, we expect more disappointment and have little hope for change.

For us to thrive at work, we must align our hearts with faith and hope in God. Our beliefs, attitudes and mindsets influence how we respond to pressure. We do what we believe. Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”

What we put our faith and hope in will determine the fruit we reap. Hope is the expectation that keeps our faith alive while we wait for what we are believing God for.

In the Bible, Joseph and Daniel had hope in God no matter what they faced. Neither man had an easy career path. Joseph was betrayed, falsely accused and imprisoned. Daniel worked in a foreign land among people who wanted to destroy him. Yet, both men believed that God was still at work, even in difficult circumstances. Because of that hope, they persevered and experienced God’s favour in bad situations.

However, instead of living like these men, some of us are more familiar with Proverbs 13:12, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.”

Have you become heart-sick at work? After disappointment, rejection, embarrassment or failure, have you begun approaching new opportunities with negative expectations? Maybe you do not even recognize them. They simply appear in your thoughts and begin to direct your actions.

Your boss calls you to a meeting and your first thought is, “What have I done wrong now?”

You are invited to join a new project team and immediately think, “I am not good enough. I will fail my team. I am going to look foolish.”

These thoughts matter. What we believe affects how we behave. When we constantly expect failure, we may begin to avoid opportunities, hold back ideas, procrastinate, overwork to prove ourselves, or withdraw from people who could help us grow.

Sometimes these beliefs began out of a painful experience. Perhaps you were asked to speak at a workplace function, and it did not go well. From that moment, you started saying, “I am not good at speaking. I will never do that again.” What began as disappointment becomes a decision about your future.

That is what an inner vow can do. It is a promise we make to ourselves in response to pain, frustration or failure. It may feel like protection, but Proverbs 20:25 says, “An impulsive vow is a trap; later you’ll wish you could get out of it.”

Negative expectations limit our resilience. They drain our creativity, courage and willingness to try again. We begin to see challenges as threats rather than opportunities for growth. We stay in our comfort zones because we are afraid of being embarrassed again.

But in order to thrive, we must push against the things that have been limiting us.

This does not mean pretending that painful experiences did not happen. It means refusing to allow them to have the final word over our lives. God can help us face what shaped our fear and replace those negative expectations with faith and hope in Him.

So, begin by paying attention to your thoughts this week. When an opportunity, meeting or challenge arises, what is your immediate expectation? Ask the Holy Spirit to show you where past disappointment has shaped your present response, and surrender to God so that you can move forward with hope again.