Expectation

Howdy, blogosphere!  Happy Wednesday (affectionately known as "Hump Day") to you! :)

I have always been very touched by music.  I don't know what it is about it, but from an early age, there have always been certain songs that just "got" me somehow.  I can remember how scared I was by Bill and Gloria Gaither's "Monster Song" was when I was little... and how much I wanted "Someday My Prince Will Come" to happen to me :).  If there's one church song that gets to me, there's a million (157 of which you will probably hear about eventually).  Well, this weekend, somewhere between Rome and Cave Springs (on one of the prettiest roads in the world), I heard a "new" song - specifically a couple of lines of one - that hit me like a ton of bricks:

"If faith can move the mountains
Let the mountains move
We come with expectationWaiting here for you "

-"Waiting Here For You" by Christy Nockels

expectation.  Expectation.  EXPECTATION?  Now, I pray, and I feel pretty good about my faith in the Lord and what He can do... right up until I need it.  Then, one of my most quoted verses of Scripture becomes "I believe, Lord, help my unbelief."  So why don't I expect the Lord to bless me?  Why is it so hard to let go of the control that I so desperately cling to like Linus clings to his blue blanket?  (The irony here is that my so-called "control" usually gets me into a bigger pickle than the ones you get at the fair.)  I was reminded of a story that our pastor has told a few times about a lady who had prayed for a particular need.  She asked God to intervene in the need, then she thanked God for answering her prayer.  Had He already answered it, right then and there?  No, but she expected and believed and knew that He was going to.

When you pray for rain, don't forget your umbrella.

When you ask for strength, get ready to flex your muscles.

When you request blessings, get your basket ready to collect the manna.

Pray.  Trust.  Have faith.  Believe.  Expect.

"Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost."  ~Romans 15:13