Expectations

Every start of the year, I come to God with my expectations.

This year I had expectations for God to move in almost every aspect of my life, from finances, my marriage, my family and even my pregnancy journey.

But you know, here’s the thing with expectations–

We usually already have some kind of a predetermined plan.

When we’re in the posture of expectation, we expect the outcome to be 4, so we assume that 1+3 will get us there.

But what if God wants to get us to 4 by 2+2?

What happens when our meticulously crafted plan for how God should work in our lives doesnt actually work out that way? What happens when what we expect and desire as solutions to our current challenges in a season doesn’t quite pan out the way we envisioned?

The honest answer? We can end up discouraged, confused, frustrated, defeated, maybe even hopeless.

Approaching God with a preconceived outcome often sets the stage for disappointment. 

Yes, I am trusting God for certain things this year. Yes, I firmly believe in His sovereignty and capability. Yes, I have faith that He will surpass all my expectations, that He will do exceedingly, abundantly, above all I could ask, think, or imagine!

Yet, the question arises: How do I shift my mindset this year, in this new season?

How do I position myself for all that God has in store for me?

I realized that I needed to transition from a heart posture and attitude of expectation to anticipation.

When I had this revelation, I had to look up these two words because I thought I was tripping. “Aren’t these words synonymous?” And they often are used interchangeably, but there’s a crucial difference, especially when it comes to our walk with Christ.

The tea is this: anticipation is looking forward to what is coming, resting in the assurance that regardless of how it unfolds, it will be good, while expectation is projecting an imagined reality onto the future. Expectation can come with a sense of deservingness or entitlement. Anticipation is an open heart for what's to come.

The pivotal difference between expectation and anticipation is our attitude. It is our heart posture towards God regarding a thing.

Take for example, you have a date night planned with a special someone.

Anticipation involves looking forward to the date with excitement, heart-racing, trusting that it will be good regardless because you'll be with someone you love. Expectation, however, involves meticulous planning and imagining every detail of the night. Both scenarios result in a beautiful outcome, but one may leave feeling fulfilled, while the other experiences disappointment due to unmet expectations. 

But okay, first things first, God is good and He loves us. Those are indisputable facts. His word is alive and powerful and His promises are 'Yes' and 'Amen'. So when He says in Jeremiah 29:11 that He KNOWS the plans that He has for us, plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future–that is His word. And His word is his bond. So regardless of whether my expectations are met or not, I can trust that God’s plan and purpose will be good. And God’s purpose is greater than my expectations. Proverbs 19:21 emphasizes, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails…” . 

Yes, delight ourselves in the Lord and He will give us the desires of our heart, but it may not happen in the way that WE expect it. 

And if it does, PRAISE GOD! He is able. He is good.

And if it doesn’t, PRAISE GOD! He is still able. He is still good.

And in both ways, He will be glorified.

God WILL do that good thing for us, but the route to get to that good thing may look different than what we originally expected. We have the confidence and faith that God will provide financial breakthrough this season, but the steps to get there may be a bit more tedious, stressful or even surprising than what we originally had in mind and expected. The route to the desired outcome may differ from our expectations, requiring trust and faith in God's provision.

But while in the midst of it, will we still continue to trust that He is God? That He’s working it out for our good? Will we wait in contentment and anticipation that God will take us to 4, even if it doesn’t look like 1+3? Or will the weight of unmet expectations overwhelm us and push us to take matters into our own hands?

He’s doing a new thing this year, will we not see it?

Sometimes we’re so caught up on our formula for how breakthrough will occur or how our needs will be met that we’re not seeing the new thing God IS doing. What He’s teaching us along the journey. What He's revealing in us as He's bringing us to the answered prayer.

Sometimes we become so attached to our expectations and our minds can get so fixated on how we want something done that we can’t see Jesus moving right in front of us.

Isn’t that what happened to Martha? When Jesus arrived that evening to her house, she was preoccupied with her expectations, cooking, cleaning. She even expected Jesus to rebuke Mary for sitting at His feet instead of helping her. But Martha missed the real big picture. Jesus, Son of God, was in HER house!

Jesus spoke to Martha and said, “my dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42.

Even the Jewish leaders and Pharisees. Their expectation of how the Messiah would come led them to miss Jesus--The Messiah. At that time, under Roman rule, they expected a Messiah to lead a revolt against Rome and establish an earthly kingdom immediately. Even Jesus' disciples shared this expectation, questioning Him about it in Acts 1:6. However, because the Messiah did not align with the expectations of the Jewish leaders, Pharisees, and even the people following Jesus, they tragically overlooked Him.

The expected outcome: The Messiah would come.

The expectation: The Messiah would come this way to do 'this' and accomplish 'that'.

The outcome: The Messiah came.

The result: Because they were blinded by their expectations, they missed The Messiah.

This even led those who were once followers of Christ to hand Him over to be crucified.

Just imagine the magnitude of that oversight.

I can go on, but to wrap it up, expectations come with a lid. It has limitations. It’s in a box that is confined to what our human minds can understand.

But anticipation comes with no limit. No lid. It gives room for God to exceed our comprehension.

And while not all expectations are inherently bad, it is very critical to be careful.

So 2024, I choose to walk forward with anticipation of what God has ahead. 

I still have my specific prayer points for this year, I still write down in my journal my needs and desires and my humble requests, but my heart posture has shifted. 

I don’t have these expectations of how things will happen, I just trust that they will and that it will be good. I don’t have to worry about my plan and the specific course to get to 4.

I can set aside my will, my type A mindset lol, and release control. Just letting God be God.

2024, I am now waiting in anticipation–with contentment, joy, excitement and thanksgiving

–and enjoying the journey to the expected promise.

Prayer:

Father God, help me to change my heart from a posture of expectation to a posture of anticipation. I humble myself before you. Help me to reconsider what I ask for in this season. What I expect and desire may be subpar compared to what You have in mind for me this year. Although I desire for _________  to happen a certain way, I trust in Your perfect plan and purpose because I know that it is of good and not evil and I know that at the end of it all, You will be glorified. So be glorified in my life, Lord. I wait in anticipation this year and I release my expectations. In Jesus’ mighty Name, Amen.

-- Miracle.

James Clear, author of "Atomic Habits".