At one of my classes at PBA this past semester and so far on the Race, I’ve been learning about the difference between hope and expectation. In some cases, these words are used as synonyms but I’ve started to notice a big difference between the two. Check out this quote from Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry:
“Living without expectations is hard but, when you can do it, good. Living without hope is harder, and that is bad. You have got to have hope, and you mustn’t shirk it. Love, after all, ‘hopeth all things.’ But maybe you must learn, and it is hard learning, not to hope out loud, especially for other people. You must not let your hope turn into expectation” (p 146).
Hope is a good thing. It is life-giving and sustaining. Hope is holding loosely to your desires while keeping open hands to receive what does end up happening. Expectations, on the other hand, are holding tightly to your desires and not being open to receive anything else. When expectations are not met, it can bring sadness and disappointment. You can not control this life nor what happens in it, so holding expectations is unrealistic.
Rather than expecting smooth travels, I can hope for smooth travels. Instead of expecting perfect health through this year, I can hope for it. Instead of expecting comfortable living spaces or good food, I can hope for them. None of these are guaranteed, so if I expect them then I will be disappointed. But Romans 5:5 says, “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Having hope is better then having expectations and as we begin to implement hope into our daily lives, we can also look to God as the perfect example.
God is a God of hope, not a God of expectations. He doesn’t expect you to be good enough or to measure up, because He knows we are imperfect, sinful, and broken people. Instead, God hopes that you will come to know Him because He knows that a life with him is full and abundant. God hopes that you will turn from your sin and surrender to Him because He wants to give us freedom and a new identity.
God is welcoming and approachable. You can come as you are. He is a good and loving Father, just like the father in the prodigal son story in Luke 15:11-32. Even though the son took all of his father’s inheritance and “squandered his wealth on wild living,” his father still welcomed him home with excitement and joy, throwing a celebration for the son’s return. The father did not expect his son to come home, but he hoped that he would. And God hopes the same for us. God hopes that we will find our home in Him. So put your hope in Jesus and stop expecting this world to meet your expectations or to bring you fulfillment.
