I was given
the amazing opportunity last November to fly to Chicago for a weekend of
shopping with good friends. Money was
tight, but that was okay because I knew God would provide for what I needed (and
by “what I needed” I meant enough money to take advantage of all the Black
Friday sales going on). I made a long
list of things I wanted to buy on this special shopping trip and began to pray
in expectation that God would make that happen.
After all, God knew what an opportunity this was and I knew that He could
work wonders. My flight was very generously paid for by the friend
who invited me on the trip, and I patiently waited for God to provide for the
rest.
It’s unnecessary
to share more details of the trip, but the gist of the story is that sudden
riches were not bestowed upon me, and I spent three prayerful days in Chicago asking
the Lord to guard my heart and not allow discontent to seep in. I wanted to enjoy the real blessing of the
weekend – being with a fantastic group of ladies on a big city weekend
get-a-way. Despite the many obvious
pluses of the trip (and gratefulness to a special lady who gave a gift which
covered my meals), I admit I was frustrated with the Lord. I had placed my expectation in Him (like He
asks us to, right?) and He didn’t come through.
This is hardly
an example of a life altering circumstance, but it is an example of where our expectations can get us into
trouble. I had confused God’s desire for
me to place my expectation in HIM with my expectation of a desired
outcome. As believers struggling through
difficult circumstances we encourage each other that God is still good and to
expect great things from Him. From the get go we’re taught that God is the God
of the impossible and to have faith in His ability to do wonderful things in
our lives. Those are all incredible truths
that we have the privilege of living out as His children. Where we often err, however, is in assuming
He will do specific things for us outside of what He promises us in His Word. When we hope for a certain outcome in any
given situation and it doesn’t pan out like we’d hoped and prayed, we suddenly
wonder if God is really as good and loving as He says He is, and why His
promises (ex. Ps. 37:4 “Delight in the
LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart” – a verse that’s still
a mystery to me in many ways) didn’t ‘work’ for me. This attitude, if not checked, can easily
turn into a habit of not expecting good things at all and facing life with discouragement
and defeat. Someone once said, “a
discouraged army enters battle with the certainty of defeat.” That certainly, and sadly, can be the case in
the life of the believer.
So how do we
live a life of joyful anticipation in the Lord?
It begins with
putting our hope in the right
things. Our faith can too easily be placed in what we are personally hoping for,
rather than in what God tells us to hope in.
There
are many wonderful things in this world that, simply put, God just doesn’t have
planned for every one of us. Faith set in the right direction allows us to take our eyes off of
what the world says we should have and place it in what God has told us is already
ours. These are the real treasures
(found in His Word) that result in the quietness and assurance that Isaiah
talks about in chapter 30:15.
Charles
Price, Pastor of The Peoples Church in Toronto, says, “The word hope contains, for many of us, uncertainty, ambiguity; it is
tentative, it is vague. The word “hope”
in the English language has become most useful for things we’re not sure of…”I
hope that will happen,” “I hope the store will still be open.” But Biblical hope says, “if we hope for what
we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.” (Rom. 8:25).”
The Bible
never says that we are filled with hope as we acquire things or as events pan
out as we’d planned. Romans 15:13 says we
are filled with hope as
we trust God…so
much so that we will abound in it.
“[God’s purposes] may be concealed
for a very long time, but our faith may rest in the assurance that God is still
seated on His throne. Because of this
assurance we can calmly await the time when, in heavenly delight, we will say, “All
things [have worked] together for good.”” (from the devotional Streams in the
Desert)
So even in
the absence of all we’ve dreamed for our lives, and of every apparent unmet
need, let’s walk in confident expectation in our God who is “still seated on
His throne” and has given us all we need for an abundant life.
“For
our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us, just as
we hope in You.”
Psalm 33:21,22
