For some of you who are reading Morning Devotionals a “White Christmas” is a pretty normal expectation. However, for someone who grew up in Galveston, Texas and rarely spent Christmas north of the Mason-Dixon Line, it is a rare event indeed. This year while we were in Texas visiting David and Becca for the holidays it began to snow in Weatherford, Texas on Christmas Eve morning and snowed nearly 4 inches! You can see the picture at the left and it was indeed a White Christmas for us!

I know that doesn’t seem particularly “devotional,” but remember I said I had a lot of window time during our holiday travels. The more I began to think about the pleasant surprise of the snow on Christmas this year, the more I began to think about my expectations. I must confess that I often temper my expectations to match my circumstances. I would imagine that you are very much like me. That’s simply backwards.

According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (2 Peter 1:3-4 KJV).

I don’t often use the King James Version in the devotionals, however today’s reading is one of those best expressed by that translation. Peter says that we have been given exceeding great and precious promises so that we can be a part of God’s nature. The word translated “exceeding” is used sparingly in the Scripture. In fact it is only used three times with the modifier “great.” It communicates the incalculable abundance that God gives to us. Why then are we so prone to expect less than the greatest of God’s blessing? Of course, I’m not saying that I should expect a white Christmas in the south; however, shouldn’t I expect every great gift that God has to give? With over three thousand promises in the Scripture, many dealing directly with how God wants to give us good gifts, why should we settle for less than the best?