“Expectancy is the atmosphere for miracles.” – Edwin Louis Cole

“Hope means expectancy when things are otherwise hopeless.” – Gilbert K. Chesterton

“Live in a constant state of expectancy and leave room for God to come in as He decides.” – Oswald Chambers

“We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.  In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His Holy Name.  May your unfailing love be with us Lord, even as we put our hope in you.” – Psalm 33: 20-22 NIV

William Shakespeare said, “Expectation is the root of all heartache.”  I suppose this is true relative to who we rest our hopes in and where those beliefs reside.

When you think about the expectations you hold currently in your own life, what are they based upon?  Who is at the center of their potential fruition?  Are they reliant on a particular set of circumstances to unfold, the cooperation and behavior of others, or does their eventual realization rely entirely upon you?

Can you feel the heartache already? 😊 

When we place our expectancy on fateful events, fallible people, or our own human imperfection, we often end up in a state of despair.  If you have scores of expectations for your life and your disappointments are equally as numerous, look hard at where the center of those expectations rest.  If they rely on uncontrollable circumstances, unreliable people, or the fragility of your own human efforts, the disappointment almost seems inevitable.

Expectancy has only one place where it should rest – only one Source that is trustworthy and reliant.

“My soul waits silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. “– Psalm 62:1 NKJV

This verse says so much! 

True expectancy comes from deep within – at a “soul” level where faith, belief, and trust reside.  It never rests in earthly circumstances nor is it centered on human involvement and participation.  It originates at the point of who we truly are and is deeply connected to our spirituality.

True expectancy doesn’t fretfully try to make things happen.  It “waits” on God – believing He has a plan for us – believing He is in control and has the power to act at the perfect time.  I love how Oswald Chambers describes waiting as “leaving room for God to come in as He decides”.  I can’t begin to count the number of times in my own life where I failed to wait.  I felt like I needed to bring my expectations and hopes to life on my own.  I wonder how often I have missed God’s best.  I wonder how many years’ worth of failures and disappointments could have been avoided.

True expectancy isn’t full of endless prayers – believing we must get God’s attention focused on our expectations.  It isn’t surrounded by complaining or bickering when our hopes are nowhere near being fulfilled.  It is “silent” – a non-verbal form of faith and trust that God knows our hearts and is working out the BEST for us no matter how things unfold.

True expectancy is found in God alone.  It isn’t contingent on who we know, if the circumstances work out just right, or if we can manipulate things to turn out as we expect.  It rests entirely and wholly on God – the Creator and Sustainer of all things.  Hope and expectation placed anywhere else is short-lived, hit-and-miss, and never truly satisfying.

This one blows my mind 😊 True expectancy “is from Him”.   Our expectations aren’t satisfied by Him or awarded to us based on our own goodness or efforts. Our hopes aren’t conjured up and sustained of our own accord – they are “from Him”.   Hope and faith are gifts He gives to each of us – gifts that come from a deeper relationship with Him.  The deeper that relationship goes, the more we are apt to see how all our expectations center in Him and are from Him. 

The word “expect” has several synonyms: To “assume”, to “imagine” ….to “believe”.

 When it comes to true expectancy, here are some truths that will help you begin to see how our God alone is at the very center of all our expectations and needs.

Assume there is a Reason behind Everything

I declare the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’ – Isaiah 46:10 BSB

“Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.” – Proverbs 19:21 ESV

Believe that Timing is always Perfect

“Everything that happens in this world happens at the time God chooses.” – Ecclesiastes 3:1 GNT

“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living.  Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!” –  Psalm 27: 13-14 BSB

“As for God, his way is perfect.” – Psalm 18:30 WEB

“He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God]—yet man cannot find out (comprehend, grasp) what God has done (His overall plan) from the beginning to the end.” – Ecclesiastes 3:11 Amplified Bible

Imagine that All Things are under Control

“I am God and always will be. No one can escape from my power; no one can change what I do.” – Isaiah 43:13 GNT

“I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?” – Jeremiah 32:27 NIV

“And He Himself existed and is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. [His is the controlling, cohesive force of the universe.]” – Colossians 1:17 Amplified Bible

My friend, tremendous peace comes to us with this kind of expectancy!  Let me paraphrase what David was alluding to in Psalm 62 that points this out:

“God is intricately aware of all my hopes – every expectation I have deep within my heart – the things I desire for my life.  In fact, they have come from Him!  He placed them there when I was created.  All my hopes come from Him.  I believe that only He alone can bring them to pass – no one else.  His ways and His timing are perfect, so I can quietly and patiently wait for them to unfold.  Nothing is impossible for Him to accomplish within my life!”

 May each of us have a sense of peace when it comes to all our hopes and expectations.  They are in Good Hands 😊

God bless!