To live with expectation is to live in a celebration of hope. And when it is grounded in the depths of Father’s love, we are assured we will not be disappointed.
Advent is the perfect time to perfect our expectations by turning our hearts toward Bethlehem. A place known for its smallness filled with the Light of the World.
A little town where the largeness of love was birthed. Where hopes and fears met in the face of Jesus and the breaking of Satan’s kingdom began.
The heavens above Bethlehem’s outlying hills became the host for the heavenly hosts declaring the worth of a Savior come to all who would have eyes to see Him.
Sadly, many were blinded to the wonder. A silent night was all that was heard despite the crescendo of love unfurled upon a lost and dying world.
As the well-known Christmas song declares:
No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still,
The dear Christ enters in.
This is the expectation that is for all who will believe. All who will receive this magnanimous gift.
Immanuel.
God with us.
Christ in us, the hope of glory.
This is why my hopes will never be disappointed.
This is why I will live with an expectation to see the goodness of my Lord in the land of the living.
And to know the wonder of it in me.
For I, like Bethlehem, though small in the eyes of the world, hold the largeness of His kingdom come.
Immanuel.
The greatest expectation of all.
Revealed in me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Our faith in Jesus transfers God’s righteousness to us and he now declares us flawless in his eyes. This means we can now enjoy true and lasting peace with God, all because of what our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, has done for us.
Our faith guarantees us permanent access into this marvelous kindness that has given us a perfect relationship with God. What incredible joy bursts forth within us as we keep on celebrating our hope of experiencing God’s glory!
But that’s not all! Even in times of trouble we have a joyful confidence, knowing that our pressures will develop in us patient endurance. And patient endurance will refine our character, and proven character leads us back to hope. And this hope is not a disappointing fantasy because we can now experience the endless love of God cascading into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who lives in us!
For when the time was right, the Anointed One came and died to demonstrate his love for sinners who were entirely helpless, weak, and powerless to save themselves.
– Romans 5:1-6, TPT
This post was written in conjunction with https://fiveminutefriday.com/2021/12/02/fmf-writing-prompt-link-up-expectation/
Yes, Barbara! I agree with your declaration, “This is why I will live with an expectation to see the goodness of my Lord in the land of the living.”
Hope’s a celebration,
a promise to an aching heart
that in bad situation
God won’t idly stand apart,
but get down in the mess with you,
wipe bloody hands upon His pants,
and from His grin you’ll know it’s true
that He really understands
that you can’t make it on your own,
that the world will steal your tears
and mortgages your every groan,
but through the sad and bitter years,
when you only want to hide,
your hope comes real, He’s by your side.