Expectant

“I want to go to Greece.” My sweet friend Lauren exclaimed as we dreamed about what the future might hold.
        I nodded, “I’d definitely go there. I’m also kind of feeling Ireland and Scotland right now.” I added imagining what kind of fun an adventure like that might bring into my life.
        Somehow the conversation shifted to Disney World. I was six the first time I ever visited the place where dreams come true, while my friend was a little bit older. We talked about our experiences and what our perspectives had been like visiting when we were younger.
  “We should plan a trip there now.” We agreed with laughter and optimism that would make Walt proud, but knowing the idea would probably not take flight anytime soon.
        As the laughter died down, the conversation went deeper. We began to share about the things God has been teaching us, primarily about expectancy and believing God could do immeasurably more than we could imagine.
  “I think God is calling me to work for a non-profit organization one day.” My friend voiced with an excitement that made me sure that it had indeed been inspired by something more than just a whim. She went on to explain the reasoning behind it and how God had moved in unexpected ways to give her this revelation.
  “I can’t let go of the idea that God is calling me towards vocational ministry.” I told her.  “And the other night as I was driving home from class, the image of a publishing company in Nashville popped into my head.” These were both things I had thought about before, but that had not come to fruition yet. I admitted to my friend that I almost didn’t want to say them out loud for fear of disappointment or maybe hearing God incorrectly.
  She nodded in understanding and then added a profound thought. “I’ve been learning that we have to call things out. We have to speak God’s power over it.”
  I let that statement settle into my heart. She was right and it seemed God had been trying to show me that over and over lately. I recently read a sentence in a book along these same lines that made an impression on me. It was the kind of sentence that stays with you long after you turn the page and finish the book. It was the kind of truth that unties the nice, neat bow you’ve wrapped around Christianity and challenges you to go the distance in your faith. It went like this: “A god small enough to be understood is not big enough to be worshiped” (Evelyn Underhill).
  That sentence moved me because I’ve always struggled with wanting to see clearly. I want to see the next step or how the story unfolds. I want to know. And I want to understand.
  God on the other hand keeps asking me to trust even in the middle of complete darkness.
  I remember learning this lesson early on when we took a field trip in school to the Children's Hands-On Museum one day. I’m not sure what their main theme was, but there were a lot of lessons and activities about bats that day. We looked at their sleeping patterns. We ate fruit to see what their diets consisted of and near the end of the day, the people in charge of this museum decided it was a good idea to blindfold a bunch of little kids and make them find their parents by sound alone like bats do in dark caves.
  I don’t know if it was the fear of making a mistake or an early sign of stubbornness, but I peeked.
  Yes it’s true. I lifted my blindfold up (They should have tied it tighter if they didn’t want this to happen) and located my mom. I left that day victorious as a bat, but the lesson of trust was lost on me.
  As silly as that story is, I think that’s how some of us have been walking with the Lord. We listen for His voice or His direction, but cannot hear it over all the other voices we are listening
to and when we don’t hear it, we peek in other directions. We lift up the blindfold and take it upon ourselves to do things instead of  staying the course and listening for that still small, familiar voice. And in these moments, we trade our sturdy faith for a cheap imitation that looks like victory, but only leads to a life that is less than God has called us to live.
  I love the conversation I started this post with between my friend and I because it was full of hope and dreams and what ifs. But what I love more than that is how God used it to show us that He is not a far off, someday, kind of God. He is a right here in the moment God. The heart of our conversation wasn’t found in overpriced souvenirs or bucket list trips, it was revealed in the things God is doing in our lives right now.
  I’ve realized my need to understand God is similar to the lesson of the blindfold that day at the museum. Perhaps, if I fully trusted, it would give God the room He needs in order to do the impossible. Maybe if I stopped trying to figure things out on my own, God could lead me to what He has for me. And maybe just maybe, if I could fully comprehend that a God worth serving is incomprehensible, I would start to view things a little differently.
  I was watching a Lifeway Bible Study video the other day about Gideon from speaker, author and actress Priscilla Shirer. As she began to lead up to one of the points she was making, she talked about how there has been a book on the New York Times Bestsellers List for over 500 weeks. It’s a book that has been read by millions of people. That book is called, What To Expect When You’re Expecting.
  I know that title is in reference to something different, but I think it perfectly sums up what God wants for us in our lives. I think He desires an attitude of expectancy. And I wonder what our belief in God’s ability might be if we were to take that posture with everything.
  That’s not to say that things will always work out. Sometimes God’s protection is greater than our desires. Sometimes there will be moments of uncertainty before we can understand where He is leading. And sometimes we won’t understand the answer until we get to Heaven, but I don’t think God calls us to a life of expectancy so that He can make everything work out. I think He designed it for us because He knows that when we surrender in a posture of expectancy, it allows Him room to work. It’s when we open our hands, that He can fill them. And it’s when we listen for His voice, that He can call us closer to Him and show us the way.
  Micah 7:7 says, “But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me” (NIV.) The Message says it like this, “But for me, I’m not giving up. I’m sticking around to see what God will do. I’m waiting for God to make things right. I’m counting on God to listen to me.”
  My friend and I are going to try to speak expectancy over the things God is doing in our lives. You should too. Let God’s voice lead you to the place He is calling you. Trust that God is at work. And remember He is there no matter what it looks like in this moment. Here's to believing the best is yet to come!

-Only Hope