What do you expect to happen during or after or because of something? What do you expect from me? Am I expecting an answer back from you? Are you still expecting me to start talking and not ask another question? I expect that you’re starting to get confused where I am going with this. I believe that’s because expectation can be a very confusing concept.
Expectations are set for many different aspects of our lives. We set them in regard to situations or to other people, what we believe should happen or how people should act. Once a certain expectation is established, most likely, one will look for it to come to fruition or require it as an outcome. An example of this would be: You’re driving a shopping cart through a store, I call it driving because there are rules to it, it’s not just pushing a cart. Now, someone comes barreling out of a toy isle because their kids are hysterically crying and cuts right in front of your cart. Now, you may be aware of and sympathetic of what is going on and say sorry anyway but it’s not unjust to expect a return apology. Question now is, how would you feel if it doesn’t happen?
How could this relate to our relationship with God? Well, what are we told we can expect from Him? Psalms 62:5 “My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.” We can expect God to not let us be tempted beyond what we can handle (1 Cor. 10:13). He will keep (guard or protect) us from evil (2 These. 3:3). If we confess our sins, He will forgive us (1 John 1:9). God is the perfection of faithfulness and since it should be expected of anyone to fulfill a promise, we can confidently expect God to. “That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:” Hebrews 6:18
Our hope as Christians comes out of this confident expectation of God to fulfill His promises.“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:” 1 Peter 3:15. Our God is faithful, our God is just: “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” Numbers 23:19.
However, man is not this way. “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.” Psalms 118:8. A perfect example of this is one of the first things I’ve heard explained about this verse. I used to use this verse as a good example to the beauty and design of the Bible. I heard somewhere that Psalm 118 is the middle chapter of the Bible. There are 594 chapters before and 594 chapters after 118 and if you add those up you get 1,188. Psalm 118 verse 8 reads as said before. Bingo, how could man have written the Bible with that type of design and with all the other factors. Well guess what, it’s a lie, maybe. As I was writing this I tried researching it and some places say it is true for Catholic Bibles and not true for the King James Version. This better proves the point that we cannot put our confidence or trust in man, not even to analyze the Bible, but trust only in God who knows the truth.
When I am asked about where I expect to be or what I expect to be doing, I sometimes hesitate to answer not because a lack of confidence in God, but not having confidence in myself. I know “about” what I want to do but I don’t know yet what it will look like. I don’t trust my own intentions and if the things I envision for the future are truly intended for what they should, which is solely growing the Kingdom to the Glory of God. Proverbs 19:21 “There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.” The Hebrew word for “devices” is maḥăšāḇâ which can mean thoughts, plans, and purposes. When these come from man they are vanity. Hence my reference to James 4:14.
That is why for now I don’t make expectations, I only try to “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” This is done by studying His word, which is “the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand”. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12. By doing this we can expect to know what we are doing is God’s will and for His glory,“For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.” Not like you were in front of the toy isle.
33 and a Third 