“No matter how well we may know God, the great lesson to learn is that He may break in at any minute.”
How would life look if we lived in a constant state of expectancy? If we made an effort to look for God’s presence and His fingerprints each and every day of our lives? Because this is something I’ve been thinking about for a few weeks now, I didn’t want to just pose the question. I wanted to see it through and share the result, and let me tell y’all that there are results (praise Jesus). So for the past week, my goal has been to “live in a constant state of holy expectancy.” I wanted to seek the Lord first, depend on His promises, and expect that He will reveal Himself (in His way and in His time) in even the smallest moments…
*side notes- I only go through 5 days because if I did any more than that y’all would get tired of reading this post. (because God is good & I could go on and on about this topic)*
Day 1: Intent and attitude. It’s only been one day, but it quickly became clear to me that holy expectancy begins with intent and attitude. I must be intentional in seeking the Lord and expecting Him to do great things in my life. My attitude must be one of humility and awe. I must realize that I have no good thing apart from God, and I must believe in all that He is and was and will be.
Day 2: It’s day two, and y’all I’m kind of already shocked. No shining lights from heaven or visits in the middle of the night from an angel, but I can honestly say that I cannot remember even a moment where an anxious thought held me captive. This isn’t to say I didn’t have an anxious thought (the enemy knows my struggles well), but these thoughts didn’t linger and steal my peace. This may not sound like a big revelation or victory, but for someone who has often struggled with worry/anxiety, there is no other explanation for the unhindered joy I’ve felt than God himself.
Day 3: The only word I can use to describe this day is joy. Pure, not circumstantial, carefree joy, and it. feels. GREAT! There is something so powerful about seeking the Lord’s presence and believing that He will be found each time I turn my eyes His way. My day may have had a few bumps, but even with the bumps I found myself overflowing with joy with the help of this reminder of the greatness of our God and His love for me (and you):
“There is nothing that can ever separate us from Your love. No life, no death, of this I am convinced: You, My God, are greater still.” -The Greatness of our God, Hillsong United
Simple and to the point but so, so good to hear time and time again.
Day 4: Today was not my best. Nothing ‘bad’ happened, but my mind was not Christ-focused for much of the day. I let my focus slip, until I got in my car to drive home from work…sitting on the interstate, surrounded by people, with road rage building in my veins, I was gently reminded (shout-out to the K-Love radio station) that more than being loved by God, I am renewed, I am cleansed, I am restored, and I am free to dive into the depths of His love for me. His love expresses itself in grace the moment my thoughts turn back to Him. The road rage that quickly rang through my mind can be even more quickly replaced with thankfulness at the reminder of God’s grace for sinners like me. This is the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the purpose of me working on holy expectancy. He is working, even when I am slipping.
Day 5: Today I wanted to focus on what “holy expectancy” was all about… Walking by faith and expecting God to show up in all moments, not just in the moments we most clearly see our need for Him. Believing that promises made thousands of years ago still remain (Romans 8:28). Waking up with the knowledge that you will one day literally stand before the King of kings and Lord of lords and hear Him graciously welcome you home (John 10:27-29). Believing that the Almighty, all-powerful God is exactly who he says he is (Revelation 1:8, Psalm 95:1-7).
With these things in mind, holy expectancy simply put is believing that God will do God things. He has split the seas, healed the sick, raised the dead, opened the eyes of the blind, freed his people, and the list goes on. He is God, and He will do great things, but if we are not tuned into Him we will miss His fingerprints and the blessing that comes in recognizing His presence and power over our lives. This past week has truly been eye-opening, and if you (like me) haven’t really put much thought into this concept of expectancy until now, I encourage you do so. However that looks for you, please take a step in faith and expect the Most High God to do things that only He can do.
If you listen, He will speak.
“Now then, stand still and see this great thing the Lord is about to do right before your eyes!” – 1 Samuel 12:16