* What Do You Expect?

But his joy is in those who reverence him, those who expect him to be loving and kind.
Psalm 147:11 LB

'Expect' is a verb; an action word. It is generally defined one of three ways: 

• To believe with confidence, or to think it most likely that an event will take place in the future, as in, 'That was expected to happen.'
• To wait for an anticipated thing, such as 'I expect a visit soon.'
• To anticipate something as right or duty, for instance, 'Parents expect their children to obey the rules.'

If a child thinks you expect him to fail, he will. If he thinks you expect him to behave badly, he will. By the same token, if you expect him to succeed, he will give it everything he's got. He'll do more than he would typically accomplish simply because you expect it of him. Husbands and wives do the same thing. And statistics prove that if an employee expects to be fired, he will invariably do something that will expedite that very action. People will rise and fall to what is expected of them. Yes, expect is very much an action word.

We are made in the image and likeness of God, according to His Word. We are His children. His love never changes, but His joy or anger with us can be kindled by our actions toward Him and what He expects of us, whether implicitly or explicitly defined. 1st John 3:2-3 tells us, Dear friends, we are already God's children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.  [emphasis mine]

Having certain expectations is not wrong as long as they line up with God's Word. God's joy is in those of us who reverence Him, those who expect Him to be loving and kind. He expects us to accept Christ's sacrifice for our sin as the gift of mercy and grace that it is. God expects us to be pure as He is pure. These are reasonable expectations. What do you expect?

Prayer:

Father,
         Set our sight on things above and not things on earth. Help us to walk according to Your expectations of us. We want to walk with clean hands and pure hearts. Let us see You for who You are. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen