(Note:
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GREAT
EXPECTATIONS
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One evening
not long ago, I was spending some time with my wonderful
husband, Jack. That night I was weary and discouraged.
After eight years of dealing with the awful affects
of autism, my vigor was waning. I was tired and low.
In an effort to help revitalize my strength, Jack suggested
that perhaps we needed to spend more time in prayer
after the kids were in bed at night.
I burst into
tears. “What more does God expect of me? I have
no energy left at the end of the day after all I have
to deal with! And now I have to spend what little time
I have for myself doing one more thing?” I have
to admit that my reaction shocked me as much as it shocked
Jack. Without warning, up and out of me came truth of
the depth of hopelessness that I had fallen into.
It became
clear I had to go back to the Lord to allow Him to minister
to me, if nothing else. How did it get this bad? I had
become a living example of Proverbs 13:12, “hope
deferred makes the heart sick.” My heart was sick
and I had grown weary. In the past few years we have
seen little progress with Nicholas, dealing with full-syndrome
autism, and have dealt with several challenges with
our middle son, Sam, who has moderate autism.
I began expecting
bad days – and I got them. The real question then
became not “what does God expect of me?”
but, “what do I expect of God?”
As I allowed
the Lord to minister to me, I began to realize that
the discouragement and hopelessness I was feeling was
the result of my own self-pity. I had begun to focus
more on the loss and pain I was suffering rather focusing
on God’s future and His promises. The result was
pessimism. I had lost sight of the love of God in my
life and in the lives of my children. I had lost my
expectation in God for a victorious future.
Then the
Lord reminded of something else – future is synonymous
with expectation. I went to the dictionary just to see
if the terms were linked. I discovered that one definition
of future is “an expected state.” And in
one definition of expectation is “a confident
belief or strong hope that a particular event will happen
in the future.” There is no question that one
coincides with the other.
God is able
to move on our behalf when we expect Him to do so. It
really is a simple matter of faith. Do we have faith
in God or not? The answer to that question really does
determine the path we will follow and what the future
holds. It determines how much we will allow God to move
on our behalf.
For me, I
am determined to shake off the hopelessness and discouragement
of the past years. I am choosing to awake each day and
make a declaration of God’s goodness every day
before the demands of the day overtake me. This is a
great exercise for any Christian.
The Psalms
are full of wonderful declarations of God’s power
and faithfulness in the midst of adversity. It may be
good to read a passage aloud each morning – even
if it’s only a few sentences. Some examples are:
• “But
I call to God, and the LORD saves me. Evening, morning
and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice.”
(Ps 55:16-17, NIV)
• “With
God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down
our enemies.” (Ps 60:12, NIV)
• “Proclaim
the power of God, whose majesty is over Israel, whose
power is in the skies.” (Ps 68:34, NIV)
• “Your
ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God?
You are the God who performs miracles; you display your
power among the peoples.” (Ps 77:13-14, NIV)
• “For
the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor
and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those
whose walk is blameless.” (Ps 84:11, NIV)
These are
only a few passages from the Psalms. There are great
statements of faith we can declare from both the Old
and New Testaments.
This exercise
is more than just making positive statements or wishful
thinking. It is allowing hope in a mighty God who is
able to do all He has said to begin to rise up within
our hearts. It is declaring the truth, which will set
us free. That in itself will bring a measure of healing
to a sick heart.
But there’s
more. As we truly take hold of hope in God, it will
transcend into faith. With our faith arising, God can
then take hold of our circumstance and cause us to overcome.
And it is through faith that we will see demonstrations
of God’s power. He has the power to heal, the
power to deliver, the power to set us free. And, yes,
He also has the desire to do so on our behalf. The only
true way for us to tap into the power of God, not only
for ourselves, but for our children, is to expect Him
to move.
Jack and
I have determined that we will allow an expectation
of God’s love and His power to determine our future.
We will wake in the mornings declaring that we have
God’s strength for today and hope for tomorrow.
We will choose not to live “under the circumstances”
of our lives, but we will catch a new wind of strength
to soar above them. We will expect to have the joy of
the Lord. We will expect to see good things for our
children.
Does that
mean nothing discouraging will happen in the future?
Of course not. But no matter what happens, we can choose
each and every day what our response will be. We can
either walk in self-pity and doubt, or expect to see
God’s hand move in our circumstances.
We have determined
that no matter what comes, we are going to believe in
God’s faithfulness to us, we are going to expect
to tap into His overcoming strength, and we are going
to expect that He will move with power on our behalf.
Even though we have suffered deep disappointments in
the past, we are choosing to expect God’s goodness
to overflow for our future, even in the midst of the
trials we face.
Take
a moment as we begin this new year to allow a fresh
hope in God’s great faithfulness to come on you.
Read Psalm 66 (quoted in full below). And then answer
the question for yourself: what is your expectation
of the future?
With
many blessings,
Jack and Rebecca Sytsema
©
2008 Children of Destiny
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To view the Scripture Guide, please scroll down.
GREAT
EXPECTATIONS
SCRIPTURE GUIDE
But I call
to God, and the LORD saves me. Evening, morning and
noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice.”
(Ps 55:16-17, NIV)
“With
God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down
our enemies.” (Ps 60:12, NIV)
“Proclaim
the power of God, whose majesty is over Israel, whose
power is in the skies.” (Ps 68:34, NIV)
“Your
ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God?
You are the God who performs miracles; you display your
power among the peoples.” (Ps 77:13-14, NIV)
“For
the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor
and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those
whose walk is blameless.” (Ps 84:11, NIV)
Psalm
66 (NIV)
1 Shout with joy to God, all the earth!
2 Sing the glory of his name;
make his praise glorious!
3 Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power
that your enemies cringe before you.
4 All the earth bows down to you;
they sing praise to you,
they sing praise to your name."
Selah
5 Come and
see what God has done,
how awesome his works in man's behalf!
6 He turned the sea into dry land,
they passed through the waters on foot —
come, let us rejoice in him.
7 He rules forever by his power,
his eyes watch the nations —
let not the rebellious rise up against him.
Selah
8
Praise our God, O peoples,
let the sound of his praise be heard;
9 he has preserved our lives
and kept our feet from slipping.
10 For you, O God, tested us;
you refined us like silver.
11 You brought us into prison
and laid burdens on our backs.
12 You let men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water,
but you brought us to a place of abundance.
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