Expectations

“May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

Encounters with people always come with expectations. Sometimes they are conscious expectations we engage with anticipation. Other times they are unconscious expectations and we encounter pleasure or disappointment dependent on how those expectations are met.

The definition of “hope” in our verse today is “confident expectation”. We can have a confident expectation in our God to fill us with joy and peace as we walk into all the various scenarios of our day trusting Him. Change the focus of your day to the expectation you have in God and not in the people around you.

Today put your expectation in Him. Trust His strength to guide you; trust His joy to fill you; trust His peace to encase you. Release those around you from the expectation that they will fill you. Look instead, with a trusting heart, to your God who can give you all the joy and peace you need. Let your confident expectation be in the One who has the power to fill you to overflowing. Your neediness will vanish and you will find a delight in nurturing others through the overflow He gives. Where does your hope lie today?

Thank you Father, that You are the One in whom my confident expectation can be wholeheartedly placed with assurance. Today I ask for Your help in releasing those around me from my expectations. May I look to You to fill me with joy and peace to overflowing. I give all my neediness to You with thanksgiving. I pray in Jesus’ name, amen.

Take a 15-minute break and walk and talk with God about the neediness you are feeling today. Release others from filling that for you and ask God to meet the needs of your heart from His great supply.

By Gail Rodgers
Used by Permission

“May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

Further Reading