Expectations. Some live with great ones, others live with few.
In your younger years, you may have yearned and dreamed and pursued your expectations earnestly. Yet, moments came when these expectations fell short and your hopes were dashed…moments when life just isn’t what you expected or hoped it would be.
The child you were parenting turned away from the Lord. The job you were pursuing was handed to another. Your retirement savings depleted with the recession. The marriage you dreamed about as a little girl crumbled before your eyes. Life’s hurts and pain sapped your hope. Maybe you cried out to God or to another, “This is not what I expected!” Or, maybe you want to cry out to Him now.
God has heard your cry. God knows your expectations. God knows your hopes, your dreams, your deepest desires. And, He answers emphatically, “You can put your hope in Me!”
The book of Psalms is bursting with emotion, the very emotions you likely feel right now, and the writers, inspired by God, have given you clear direction:
“Be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord.” ~ Psalm 31:24
“I put my hope in You, Lord; You will answer, Lord my God.” ~ Psalm 38:15
“For You are my hope, Lord God, my confidence from my youth.” ~ Psalm 71:5
“Sustain me as You promised, and I will live; do not let me be ashamed of my hope.” ~ Psalm 119:116
Hope is anxious expectation. When your anxious expectations are wholly, fully focused on God and His promises, you can rest assured that He will answer. If you are a believer, you have “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). The hope we have in Him and in our promised eternity with Him will far exceed our greatest expectations!
Given the Time 