Great Expectations

“... You did awesome things that we did not expect ...” (Isaiah 64:3 NIV)

To everything there is a season ... and a Rubbermaid tote of decorations in the attic.

Yes. When it comes to the seasons of the year we know exactly what to expect. Halloween will welcome our light up pumpkins and our trusty leaf-filled scarecrow. Christmas will be invited by the angel tree topper that graced our Grandmother’s tree when we were small and spring will be greeted with the ancient egg decorating kit that our mom pawned off on us years ago.

When it comes to the seasons of life, however, we aren’t always as prepared. In fact, the only promises we are given in these changing seasons are “expect the unexpected.”

And I for one really don’t like the unexpected. Never have. I have a reminder on my calendar for every event under the sun. When I go to the doctor, I want to know exactly what they are going to do to me before they ever even pull out the needle. And I want to know if it’s going to hurt.

I remember being pregnant with our first son. I wasted no time rushing out to buy my copy of “What to Expect”. And when I experienced something unexpected - I totally lost it. I wanted to know what horribly rare disease I had that was so completely unheard of that it got left out of the index.

Life itself is a lot like pregnancy, isn’t it? We go into this journey totally unaware of what to expect. All throughout it, even when we think we know what’s headed our way, we find that we draw a complete blank. “God, I don’t know what I’m waiting on. I’m just waiting on something that I know hasn’t come.”

It can be frustrating when we don’t know exactly what we are waiting for. When we have no earthly idea what we need from God, we just expect that God does; and whatever that need turns out to be He’ll fulfill it. No worrying required.

Nothing gets slipped past our Father. He leaves no stone unturned, no need unfulfilled. And it’s when we learn this simple truth of our Father’s love that we let God out of our box. It’s here that we take the limits off His grace and here that He is given free rein to rock our world in ways we can yet to imagine.

When you don’t know what to expect, take comfort in these great expectations. If you are waiting on the Lord, whatever it is you are waiting for, it won’t be anything less than everything that you need.

Copyright © Brooke Keith, used with permission.