What to Expect {when you’re expecting}

Disappointment. Sure, not every time. But if you’re expecting anything from anyone, you are at great risk for dissatisfaction. I mean, when does anything happen just like we hope? When do we get exactly what we’re wanting? For the past week, I’ve been seeking the Lord in how to expect, how to hope for, how to wait. For I recently lost what I was expecting, and I sigh and laugh a little as I realize the timing of my pain. For today begins a period of waiting, a season set a part to anticipate the arrival of a baby. It just won’t be mine. But instead, it’s ours! A baby that belongs to the whole world. The One born of flesh, but equal with God. The One who was rejected, yet welcomed all of creation. The One who came with wholeness to a broken world who needed Him. This baby was God coming to his people, to bring them back to Himself. The days leading up to his birth demand our attention. They ought to captivate our hearts with anticipation, mesmerize our souls with the joy that’s to come…and lead us to the humble places where he is sure to be born. I enter this 25-day pregnancy with a lot of hope this year. An Advent Season where I swell with trust, grow in faith. Where I wait in great expectation for this Christ to be born into all my present realities. For truly, He is the only one worth expecting, the only one who will not disappoint. Jesus, the hope of the Earth. He will always come.

But what does this mean for our earthly waiting? The things and people we long for? The expectations we can’t help but form? The hoping that brings comfort in the midst of trouble? It seems near impossible to eliminate these human responses. My loss had me hurting in unfamiliar ways, and it’s natural to have expectations of those around you during a time like that. And then there’s the waiting I’ve been doing for nearly two years for something, for someone. It’s one thing to wait upon the Lord – I can do that. My deep love and trust in the Father endures my spirit. It’s so much harder to wait for people. Knowing they could have done things different. Knowing they could have moved faster. Knowing they could have handled the situation better. My expectations met flawed responses. And what you can expect when you’re expecting {like this} is disappointment. So my heart cries out What does hoping look like between people? How should we of flesh expect worthy things from one another? Is it possible for flawed people to wait upon flawed people in a way that brings about good? I think of Abraham and how he put more hope in God’s promise of a child, than in the One Himself who would bring about provision. His broken waiting brought conflict as he sought self-fulfillment. I think of Israel and how they waited and waited for their King to come. Yet they put more trust in the flesh than the Father. Their broken waiting of infidelity, idol worship and self-reliance made pain and destruction consistent characters in their story. But God never left Abraham and He never left his chosen people. He sustained them and remained faithful to His promise. Christmas came! And He changed their story forever…and ours. Sometimes God initiates a season of waiting in order to bring about His will in the fullness of time. Like when he wandered his people in order to begin a relationship with them; to reveal his faithfulness and establish them as a community, before building them like a city on a hill. And sometimes the waiting happens as a result of human fallenness, and God enters into the waiting, redeems the time and makes it His again. Like when fear led those same wandering people into more waiting, instead of embracing God’s promised land at the time He intended. The broken stories in scripture remind me that not all things happen in God’s timing. Results and responses aren’t always part of God’s will. This is the reality of a broken world, of human hands and hearts participating with God in the activity of his world. But here’s what my waiting heart needs to remember: God’s will cannot be thwarted. His promises will come to fruition. And He will still accomplish it in a time and manner that bring Him glory. Even after human diversions. Even through human misunderstandings. Even if his people are slow to take his lead. So in my loss and in my waiting, I will not lose hope. I believe in confidence that God will fulfill what He promised. I expect Him to bring about good things even in the struggle. And so I will wait….not on those who ultimately have to accomplish matters….but on Him who always comes. For even in our human expecting, it still must be Jesus we’re hoping in. He must always be what we’re longing for, in all things, for all things. What are you hoping for these days? For what does your heart yearn? What have you waited so long for that it hurts? If you’re hoping that your husband will change —  instead, hope for Jesus to transform you into His likeness through your marriage covenant, while giving you what you need to endure. He will come. If you’re searching for happiness in a certain life style or maybe a person — instead, expect Jesus to teach you to be joyful where you are right now. He will come. If you’re waiting for a baby to conceive in you — instead, wait upon the Lord to birth new life in your spirit as you prayerfully submit your will to Him. He will come. If you’re longing to understand the heart of your children — instead, chase after the heart of your Creator who uncovers mysteries. He will come. If you’re expecting provision in the form of a new job or greater pay or the sale of a home — instead, expect God to deliver His will and blessing for you. He will come. If you’re waiting for an apology so you can forgive another — instead, expect the One who reconciles to heal your pain with His grace. He will come. If you’re looking for an answer or direction or leading — instead, seek Truth that brings light to all things. He will come. Blessings as we enter this Advent season of waiting. May it draw us closer to the Father’s heart. Expect Good News to come!

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