“The created world itself can hardly wait for what’s coming next.
Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until
both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the
same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful
anticipation deepens. All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The
difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it’s
not only around us; it’s within us. The Sprit of God is arousing us within.
We’re also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours
are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us,
any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in
the waiting. We, of course, don’t see what is enlarging us. But the longer
we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.“
(Romans 8:19-25, the Message, bold type my emphasis)
I wish I could just slap up that passage and call it my blog. There’s some great stuff that Paul wrote
(and Eugene Peterson paraphrased) there…and it’s all about expectation.
As Christians, we can do one of two things when it comes to the waiting periods that God allows us to go through in our walk with Him. One, we can sit idly by, twiddling our thumbs, bored out of our minds because we can’t seem to grasp hold of what God is doing. Or two, we can wait in eager expectation, straining at the bit to see where God is going to lead us, hopeful of the Kingdom He is bringing, and anticipating the great things He is going to do.
I’ve been guilty of doing the first thing far more times than I care to count or admit. I’ve often thought that waiting periods are just that…times to sit and wait without even trying to see what God wants to do. Now, though, I’m learning to live in eager expectation, to wait actively. I’m learning to expect that God is on the move and to expect big things from Him even when it feels like I’m completely stuck in a rut and going nowhere.
Sometimes it’s a physical act, this stepping out in faith. But more often, for me anyway, it’s much deeper. It’s spiritual. It’s connecting my head to my heart. It’s growing in who I am in God while simply trying to hold on wherever God leads. It’s about voicing my expectations, my hopes, my dreams, my desires…even when physically it doesn’t seem like things are going anywhere. It’s all about trusting my Father to not only provide for my basic needs, but also help me flourish in every way.
And so I share my thoughts with you. My dreams. My prayers. My expectations. And I pray that God will expand my faith, because as Romans says, “the longer we wait, the larger we become.”
I live in expectation of what God is going to do.
I expect God to work on my heart and in my life.
I expect to see a generation rise up and claim this earth as God’s kingdom.
I expect to continually be broken as I hear stories of vulnerable and abused children.
I expect to be able to love on and work with children.
I expect to learn and grow and develop in my role as a nurse.
I expect to be a part of what God is doing around the world.
I expect to be humbled and to sometimes fall flat on my face.
I expect to have to hang on tight as I follow God in this crazy wild ride He calls life.
