Expectations

We all have them. It’s what gets us going in the morning . . . most of the time. Some days the only thing that gets us going is obligation. But those are the hard mornings.

I’m talking about most days . . . when the anticipation of the first sip of coffee is a happy thing all by itself. Mornings. I really love casual, easy, slow mornings. Coffee, Bible, other books (I read several at a time . . . all over the house), newspaper, birds chattering, coffee, quiet. Saturdays are the best.

Some weeks just the expectation and hope of Saturdays can help us get to them. We know expectation well. We understand hope. We embrace it.

FROM THE DICTIONARY: EXPECT, ANTICIPATE, HOPE, AWAIT all imply looking to some future event. EXPECT implies confidently believing, usually for good reasons that an event will occur. ANTICIPATE is to look forward to an event and even to picture it. HOPE implies a wish that an event may take place and an expectation that it will. AWAIT (WAIT FOR) implies being alert and ready.

Yesterday I heard this quote: “Hope is the last thing that dies.”

I have been thinking about that for the last 24 hours. It’s because of hope we make New Year resolutions (which are often the same as the year before and the year before that). It’s because of hope we dream about our future. It’s hope that causes us to invest in retirement accounts. Hope is the reason we have children. It's why we buy calendars and planners. Hope is the reason we get puppies. And what causes us to keep our resume updated. Hope is why we have height charts in our kids’ rooms. Hope is why we buy green bananas and plant tulip bulbs in the fall. Hope is why we give to the cause of Haiti’s rebirth. Hope keeps us going.

Hope – Mankind’s Perpetual Fuel. Hope can be defined as a well founded and confident belief that a specific vision (goal, desire, or promise) will be achieved or fulfilled within a specified amount of time.” This quote is from a great book The Richest Man Who Ever Lived by Steven Scott. (I highly recommend it).

Hope – a well founded and confident belief that a specific vision (goal, desire, or promise) will be achieved or fulfilled within a specified amount of time.

As you review your goals (again) and (still), each step completed gives you more hope that you will achieve that goal. Each step. One at a time. Hour by hour. Day by day. Week after week. Hope is the emotional and mental power to go to the next step. Hope produces progress.

That’s what it takes . . . it’s man’s fuel – his emotional fuel, his mental fuel . . . It’s real. It speaks. It keeps us moving. It’s from God. It’s good stuff!

Romans 15:13: “God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him.” And trusting Him, will cause you to overflow with confident hope.

Overflowing confident hope. God gives freely to those who ask. He is not a withholder. He’s a giver. Every time. Now that will help us get some things done!