Every Thursday I feature a “throwback” post from my blog archive. The goal is to look back and discover new lessons or opportunities to grow. This week, we’ll look at “Expectancy” You can view the original post here. For today, here’s a quick recap and a few more thoughts about our posture toward God.
When I wrote the original post, “Expectancy,” I was in a season of waiting, hoping, and wondering if God and my community would come through. I was raising funds for a missions opportunity and I had no idea how it was going to turn out. Because most of the fundraising was done by mail1, I waited with great expectation for the mail carrier to come every day hoping he brought another letter saying, “Yes!”
Today, my life is very different than it was when I was waiting for and expecting those support letter responses. Those changes have altered my relationship with the mail carrier and the postal service in general. No longer do I race home to greet my mail carrier. Honestly, I never even check the mail anymore. I don’t even have a key to the mailbox. My wife is way more interested in that type of correspondence so, she has the key and I just wait for her to hand me any relevant things.
This shift didn’t happen because the mail changed. This shift happened because my situation changed and I a result, I changed. When that season of fundraising ended I no longer needed anything from the mail carrier, he no longer represented potential support for our move and mission. Instead, he went back to representing bills and junk mail. Since I no longer needed anything from him, the excitement associated with the sight of his truck quickly faded.
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If I dig a little deeper, I find that this attitude is not reserved solely for my mail carrier. There have been plenty of seasons where this story is a perfect parallel for my relationship with God. There are seasons when I desperately need him to move on my behalf. In those seasons, I run to Him, I make time for Him, and I get excited by even the smallest glimpse of His presence.
Then there are the seasons when I feel like I have it all together. In those seasons, that excitement wanes. I don’t make as much time for Him, I don’t pursue Him, and I don’t even notice those glimpses of His presence that used to satisfy my heart like a drink of cold water in the desert. The hard truth that I must recognize is that God is not the one who changes, I am. He is still just as present, just as available, and just as involved in my life. He continues to show up every day even when I don’t.
Whether I am excited about it or not, my mail carrier still shows up everyday to deliver the mail2. He doesn’t wait until he has something I want to stop by. Instead, he keeps delivering the messages that are for me and he leaves it up to me to receive those messages and apply them appropriately3. God is the same way. He keeps showing up (even on Sundays and government holidays.) He keeps sending the messages and trusting us to be in a position to receive them.
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Whether you believe you need something from God or not, He still has something for you. He keeps showing up every day. So what if we did too? What if we expected Him to move even in the seasons in which we feel like “We’re good?” What if we were open to him bringing something surprising, amazing, or life-giving every single day?
The apostle Paul tells us pretty plainly to stay connected with God no matter the season, to come to Him with anticipation and expectation every day. He writes, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thes. 5:16-18). Seasons change but God does not. Neither does His desire for us to stay connected to Him.
So, whether you are in a season of desperate need or a season of abundance, stay close to Him. Show up every day expecting Him to do the same. He’s got something for you today. He had something for you yesterday. And He has something for you tomorrow. Just show up.
How can you show up with expectation today?
1. It was 2016 and getting an actual letter in the mail was always a fun time.
2. Except Sunday’s and government holidays. But let’s not get overly technical here. Stick with the metaphor!
3. And I mean typically apply them to the trash can because… junk mail.
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