Expectation

As we continue through Advent Season, we often find ourselves with a feeling of expectation. We are excited to be celebrating the joy of the Christmas season and most often experience the task of monitoring and adjusting our expectations. As we look at the adjustments to make when plans change or things don’t go as we expected, remember that God has expectations also. God expects us to accept His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as our Savior. He expects us to give our lives to Him, and in so doing, develop the character of Christ. God wants us to become more like Christ and the best way to become more Christ like is to Trust God. How does Trust in God work in coordination with Expectations?

In difficult situations or choices, we are often told to trust God. Trust is necessary to have a relationship with Him. If you can’t trust God, you aren’t going to willingly obey His calling on your life. Every time we worry about something, it is showing a lack of trust in God. Every time we try to take a situation into our own hands, it shows a lack of trust. Every time we question what God is calling us to do, it shows a lack of trust. So, what does it mean to fully, constantly, and consciously trust in God?

When you take the word back to its origins, we find that one of the earliest uses of Trust was to express “confident expectation” of someone. That is what it means to trust God: to have confident expectations of what He is going to do. We are confident in who He is and what He can do, and we are expectant of His working.

The power of that phrase has the ability to strengthen our faith and deepen our relationship with God. What if we faced every difficult situation and decision by saying, “I have confident expectations of what God is going to do.” The power of that sentence is tangible, let the Advent Season raise you up as your Confident Expectations become stronger as you Trust in God.

God humbly reminds me that, “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand” (Proverbs 19:21). Regardless of whether our expectations are met, we can trust that God’s purpose will prevail. And God’s purpose is greater than our expectations.

So during Advent, be prayerful. Father, help me to be careful what I ask for in this season. What I expect and desire as solutions to my current challenge may be subpar compared to what You have in mind. I release my expectations. I trust in Your purpose and plan. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. Kirk Lavallee #expectation #adventword