Expect to be Expectant

Monday is a Friday schedule. So you get three posts this week! (Maybe!) Two on faith. This one is something that's hitting me a lot from a lot of different places over the last day or two. Maybe it's the season: this weekend, we dwell on the disciples' dashed expectations as we wait expectantly for the rising Christ. He was raised upon the cross, raised from the dead, and raised to the right hand of the Father. And none of it was according to the expectations of those He came to save. Which got me thinking.
And now I want you to think: where do anger, depression, greed, lust, anxiety, and probably a host of other negative emotions have their root? I think in many ways they all spring from our expectations: things don't go the way we expect, we respond in anger, depression, anxiety; we expect certain things to come to us, and we manifest it through greed and lust.

Now think of this: two people face a difficult struggle in their life -- one runs toward God, the other runs away. What's the difference between the two, other than their actions? Delusion? Disillusionment? Or is the one running toward God acknowledging His promise of peace of mind, while the one running away faces an unfulfilled expectation of peace of circumstance?


Sometimes we credit God with promises He never made -- promises sometimes we preach and sing about. He has the power to calm the storm; the power to forgive our sins; He has the power to rise from the dead. And He does have that power. But He also has the power to sleep through the storm, to clear the temple and rebuke disciple and Pharisee, and to offer Himself up unto death. But we don't necessarily like that theology.

There are a lot of promises in the Bible that are easy to misinterpret, but this I think is clear: the most we should expect is Christ. The most we should demand is Christ. The most we should desire is Christ. What does that look like? We usually don't know before He comes. Sometimes He fills us with His presence; sometimes all we feel is void. Sometimes He brings us into relationship that changes the rest of our life; sometimes He pulls us out of relationships we don't realize are hurting us. Sometimes we receive an abundance of finances; sometimes we get just enough to get us through. But know this: if you earnestly and honestly seek Him, He will meet you. You may not know it, feel it, think it, believe it; but He's there. And, usually, He's growing you. Expect it.

See you Wednesday.