God has been teaching a lot in this season, and one of the most prevalent lessons I’m learning is to be expectant of Him.
It was a few months ago that I heard the phrase “expectant of God” for the first time. The idea was so simple, but it felt profound. Do I really expect God to come through in situations? Do I believe He is present in miraculous ways in the mundane or extraordinary? I wrestled with this, and if I'm honest with myself, I am still working to wholeheartedly believe after the initial acknowledgment of the fact.
When you go to your dad for help, a question, even a simple conversation, how does he respond? Does he say, “figure it out on your own!” Does he refuse to respond? Better yet, does he belittle you and say, “talking to you is a waste of my time!”
Of course a good father doesn’t brush you aside like this.
Instead, if he’s anything like my dad, he instantly tries to fix the problem you have. He’ll answer your questions, and he wants to hear about what’s going on in your life. He wants a relationship with you, and He wants you to come to him freely - in the good or bad.
The best part? Through experiences, these are the types of responses we have come to expect from our fathers. We expect the best.
When I approach my dad with anything, I am expectant that he will do what he can to help me, not because I necessarily deserve it or earned it, but because I know he loves me and wants the best for me.
Now, isn’t this a reflection of our Heavenly Father’s love for us?
God cherishes each and every one of us as His children, and assures us throughout Scripture that we can be expectant of His love, compassion, and promises when we come to Him.
If we can go to our earthly fathers with this type of confidence, how can we not go to our Heavenly Father with this same expectant spirit?
This simple fact dramatically changed my prayer life.
I realized that my attitude toward prayer directly reflected how I viewed my relationship with the Father. I approached prayer much like a task to be checked off a list. Did I need something? “Better pray real fast.” Yet, even though I went to prayer, the petition was fairly shallow. I don’t know that I necessarily believed the outcome of my ask would change because of a brief conversation with the Lord. When I reflected on this, I realized that how we approach our prayer life is in direct correlation with how we see God and His power in our life.
Going to the Father wasn’t a first reaction with any amount of expectation. It was a reaction I was trained to do as Christian, and maybe it would help. That was all.
Ultimately, the way I viewed prayer reflected a lack of faith that God was in fact sovereign. To me, it was an example that I was still holding on to control, because, even if I didn’t admit it, I wasn’t even close to being expectant of God’s good work.
Being expectant of God isn’t a switch I can just turn on since realizing I could indeed give Him as much credit as I give my earthly father. It’s work. It’s remembering. It’s being in the Word reading His promises.
Even with the example of our earthly fathers, they can only demonstrate a fraction of the reliance and expectation we can have in our Heavenly Father.
With God, we can go all in.
Below, is a compilation of Scriptures that have been a gentle reassurance of the expectation I can have in the Father. I hope it can bring as much comfort to you as it has brought to me.
We can have Hope in the Lord:
Psalm 130:5 - I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.
Psalm 25:3 - No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame…
Proverbs 23:18 - There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.
Lamentations 3:25-26 - The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
Matthew 6:33 - But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
We can go to the Lord:
Philippians 4:6 - Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God.
Psalm 37:7 - Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.
Romans 12:11-13 - Don’t burn out; keep yourself fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.
Matthew 11:28 - Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Jeremiah 33:3 - Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.
Hebrews 4:16 - Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Philippians 1:20 - ...it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. Amen!
1 Chronicles 4:10 - "... Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!” and God granted what he asked.
The Lord is Sovereign:
Psalm 46:10 - Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among nations, I will be exalted in the earth.
Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Romans 8:28 - And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
Isaiah 40:8 - The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
Philippians 4:19 - And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 3:20-21 - Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Romans 8:31-39 - What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one - for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one - for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.
Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours throughout Christ, who loved us.
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow - no even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below - indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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