Great Expectations

You’re hungry. Looking in the fridge, you’re aghast - no one’s gone shopping! You see a scrap of onion. You search - there, in the dairy section, you see a blob of butter and a small piece of cheddar. And there, in the egg rack, you see two eggs. What about boiled eggs with a side helping of buttery onion and old cheese? Ugh! No. Hmmm! What then? What? You have it! A tasty, savoury omelette! What have you done? You used the mind that God gave you to look, weigh up your resources and act accordingly. This is straightforward problem-solving in everyday life. Now, what if we have a need but see no resources?

Here comes a crucial question… Are our eyes fixed on the problem or fixed on God? In reality, we’re to live by faith in God and not by sight. This is true for every aspect of our lives.

Increasing your ability to receive from God. You have a challenge, a need that must be met, and a goal achieved, but you have nothing to achieve this. Your natural mind has looked at the full extent of your resources, and they’re insufficient. You’re in good company with the ancients in the bible who trusted in God. Like them, you’re in a place in which only God can provide what’s needed. 

Understanding how to receive from God is vital to living. So, here are the important factors that will bring us to success. 

Firstly, how would God do it? God never puts us in a position He hasn’t experienced. God created everything we see from nothing. God had full expectation that when He spoke, nothing would become what He declared it to be! “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” Hebrews 11:3. God sets the example; before there was anything whatsoever, God had the expectation that His word was enough. Note the word expectation. 

Our own expectation of God is the key principle for receiving for ourselves and others. We, too, are not to be moved by appearances. The old saying goes, “Seeing is believing.” - yet the principle God applies is “believing is seeing.” God had full expectation that He would see His words produce. We too are to have expectation in God. The principle is “believing is seeing.” Take Abraham, as an example - after all, he’s described in the bible as the father of faith. God gave him promises far beyond his capabilities. He believed in advance of any evidence and pleased God. As an aid, God gives him visual aids. “By faith, Abraham, even though he was past age… was enabled to become a father because he considered God faithful who had made the promise.” And “Look at the sky,” God tells him. “Count the stars if you can. That’s how your offspring will be in number.”

The key? Faith, trust, expectation in God - being assured of what we hope for, certain of what we do not see in advance. “Faith means being sure [the assurance; or the tangible reality; or the sure foundation] of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it [the conviction/assurance/evidence about things not seen]. Faith is the reason we remember [or God commended/approved] great people who lived in the past [the people of old; the ancients; our spiritual ancestors].” Hebrews 11:1-2 Expanded Bible. All the people in the bible who we honour and who please God are commended for having expectation, good expectation in God. 

Getting beyond what we see with our eyes. Expecting as we ask. Let’s say you’ve received a cheque from a reliable person and deposited it in a good bank. Do you have a good expectation? Of course. In the same way, when we ask God, we’re to be happily expectant at the time we ask, not just when we see the result. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6. Notice how thanks are given while asking. This is due to our genuine expectation in God’s reliability and capability. “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us–whatever we know that we have what we asked of him.” 2 John 5:14-15. Once more, the petitioner knows they have what they asked for as they pray. Immediate expectation is essential to seeing results. 

The woman was healed of the issue of blood, and Jairus’ daughter was raised from the dead. Mark 5:21-43. This is vividly set out in the case of Jairus. He’s convinced, in advance, that Jesus will heal his dying daughter. He said, “Please come and put your hands on her, and she will be healed and live.” v23. Bad news arrives: “Your daughter has died.” Jesus urges - don’t lose expectation. “Don’t be afraid. Just believe.”

More vital principles to the raising of this dead girl. 

Who did Jesus take? And why? Those strong in expectation of what He would do. 

Who did Jesus exclude? And why? Those lacking expectation in Him. 

Those who are vibrant with expectancy draw God’s power, whilst people rejecting what God says repel God’s power. We see this in the woman suffering from years of ceaseless bleeding. Notice here how she strengthened her expectation - she kept saying something repeatedly to herself. “She kept saying” (New Testament in Modern English, New Revised Edition, J.B. Phillips). “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” v28 She kept saying this to herself over and over. Why? To maintain her expectancy. Immediately, she was healed as she reached out, touched Jesus and drew healing power from Him v30. 

How Peter applied what he’d learnt. Peter was taken by Jesus to see him raise Jairus’ daughter. Now this practical teaching would bear fruit - Tabitha (Dorcas) was dead. Peter was called. What were people saying with weeping? “She’s dead!” What did he do? He removed them - they would drain his expectancy in God. Why was his back to her? Seeing her corpse was undermining his faith. Having optimised his expectancy, Peter turns toward the dead woman, “Tabitha, get up!” She did. Acts 9:36-41.

Persist expectantly. Even with great expectancy, there are many times we need to persist in prayer. Jesus acted more than once to restore the sight of a blind man. Mark 8:22-25. Jesus taught us to keep on keeping on expectantly in prayer without giving in. He gave the analogy of the persistent widow who came to a judge again and again until justice was had. Luke 18:1-8. This theme of repeated persistence is found in James’ teaching that Elijah was merely a man, yet his expectant prayer was effective. He tells us that Elijah was a person just like you… “And he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.” See James 5:13-18. Notice that Elijah persisted in prayer with the expectation that there would be rain. “Elijah… bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees and said to his servant, 'Go up now, look toward the sea.'  So he went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” And seven times he said, “Go again.” Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, “There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!” And then, he sent a warning to Ahab to get away because heavy rain was coming. See 1 Kings 18:41-44. 

Having good expectancy is based on God. What does God promise? Keep on expectantly keeping on!

Keeping your expectations buoyant is key to obtaining what you are believing for. In my book 'Tales out of Africa: Ordinary People having Extraordinary Encounters with God', I share many stories of how God met the expectations of those who sought Him and held on in faith. God is constantly demonstrating that He’s here with us and ready to show Himself in amazing ways. His presence and power are His calling card, revealing that He’s intimately and lovingly involved in our lives. This is a collection of true-life events that happened to us and others we encountered while ministering across South Africa. On very ordinary days, while just living life, we and others encountered a miraculous God meeting our expectations. Read this amazing book by clicking the button below, and please use my free resources by subscribing to great monthly content.

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