November 22, 2023

In our podcast Higher Ramblings, Luna and I discussed “expectations“. The word expectation means to look forward to, regard as likely to happen, anticipate the occurrence or the coming of. Watch our conversation by clicking HERE.

Tomorrow we celebrate Thanksgiving Day. Traditionally this is a day in which Americans are thankful for the birth of our nation and God’s provision for those who first came and made our national covenant with Him. They came to a foreign, unknown land to begin a life founded in worshiping Jesus Christ. They knew that their endeavor would be a greater challenge than they had ever experienced before, and they set out with great expectations of how the Lord would keep them.

Often when we think about thankfulness, our appreciation is solely based on what has been done. But when we base our expectations on Jesus and our personal relationship with Him and His word, we can be thankful for things yet to come.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1 ESV

Godly expectations and godly hope are synonymous. In fact, Psalm 62:5 commands our souls to wait silently for God alone and the reason for this in the New King James Version is because “my expectation is from Him.” The English Standard Version says, “my hope is from Him.” The Lord Jesus Christ is the trustworthy source of our hope and expectations. We seek Him and He speaks or shows us accurate and dependable things which we can call promises.

Paul writes to the church in Philippi (Philippians 1:20 ESV), “It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed.” He knew he could count on the Lord 100%, and therefore he was eager and courageous, and he had no fear of being ashamed. He wasn’t worried about God not coming through for him.

When we have right expectations of our Good Father rooted in our faith relationship with Him, we can live a fearless, joyful, and thankful life. Our condition is not determined by our circumstances, but is firmly founded in intimacy. He is our safe place.

The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish.
Proverbs 10:28 ESV

Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day. Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
Proverbs 23:17-18 ESV

This Thanksgiving recalibrate your expectations. Give thanks for the things still to come. Give thanks for your future. Yes, we are absolutely thankful for things fulfilled, but what forthcoming promises are you thankful for?

Last Saturday Wellspring.Live had a special family meeting. The purpose of this meeting was to come together as a spiritual family under the headship of Jesus and ask the question, “What is Holy Spirit saying to our church body?” This was similar to an open brainstorming session, but we call it “Spirit-storming”. First we worship the Lord and come into alignment with Him and His mind, then we allow each member to share what they believe the Spirit is speaking to them or showing them. As we do this together in unity and humility, it’s like each person is bringing a piece of a puzzle. The following images are the pieces all thrown together.

This may appear as chaos to you, but that’s usually the first step to building a puzzle— pour out the pieces. Next we must prayerfully take the pieces and begin putting them together to form the bigger picture. We had such a great time together! It was exciting to see all of the eager participation. And now I’m even more excited to see how God takes these pieces and places them together to give us a vision (picture). This inspired vision is going to set clear and trustworthy expectations, of which we will not be ashamed.

Thankfully expecting!
Matt