Anticipation is a wonderful thing. It fills you with hopeful expectation, eagerness for what’s coming, confidence that God has lovely things planned for you. Anticipation is key in living a joy-filled life.
How can you get up each day and anticipate what’s ahead? What is a new perspective you could adopt on your work or other duties that could help improve your mood toward them? Life is largely what you make of it. Finding a way to anticipate what’s coming will help you praise and honor God all the better!
Hopeful Expectation
Let’s search out some real life scenarios. Let’s talk about your schooling or your work, wherever you find yourself. Do you dread the week because it’s just another round of seemingly unending monotony? Same old, same old? Let’s reframe it!
What are you working towards? Graduation? Or if it’s work, perhaps buying a car? You must learn how to constantly reframe your perspective to something beautiful and lovely. God wants us to live full of hope and joy in Him. He hasn’t called us to a life of drudgery. So if that is where you feel stuck, you should pray and ask Him to help you see from His perspective.
Make a game out of your scenario. Break your work or schooling down into semesters or seasons and then challenge yourself to bring your very best in a cheerful way for one season at a time. Maybe at the conclusion of that season you want to treat yourself to a spa day or a shopping day. Nothing exotic, just a way to delight in work done well. And if you really don’t have the money, plan a special day at home and take time to do your own nails and curl your hair extra nice. Make a special moment to celebrate the joy of accomplishing something wholeheartedly for God.
Another fantastic thing to do when you are particularly struggling in something is to find someone else in a similar season and really work to encourage and pray for them. We are made to strengthen each other and you will experience a special kind of joy when you get past yourself and pour into another. Remember each season does eventually end, anticipation is key in working through the difficult seasons. And really, if you will learn to reframe your perspective and no longer see seasons as anything but positive, you will enjoy your life all the more!
Get Your Hopes Up
Anticipation is key in growing your faith. Remember faith is the substance of things we hope for, the evidence of things not seen. Just because we don’t see what we hope for here and now doesn’t mean it isn’t on the way. On the contrary, the very fact that we are hoping for something – as long as it is within God’s standard for His people – to me indicates that it is on the way! Let me say that another way: if you are sincerely living for God and have hopes and dreams that have not yet been realized or brought about, God has them on the way. (Hebrews 10:36)
A bold statement, I know, but to the best of my understanding God works in our hearts and in our lives and gives us little glimpses of what’s ahead by the inclinations that we have. Yes, we must daily renew our minds and make sure we are doing our best to live holy and set apart for Him. Consider this, Christ Himself said, by your faith it will be done for you. (Matthew 9:29) By your faith! Not watered down, protecting-yourself-from-disappointment, half-hearted, maybe-something-good-will-happen thinking. But rather wholehearted, hopeful expectation!
Will the realization of the dream, the conclusion of the difficult task, the fruition of your efforts look different than what you are hoping for. I would assume so – we don’t know exactly what’s ahead. But get this: it will be even better than what we are hoping for! Because that’s how God operates! Anticipation is key! Encourage yourself in the Lord, confident that He has excellent plans for you!
By Your Faith
What does your faith look like? Is it guarded and cautious? Is it wildly expectant and hopeful? Did you know that according to your faith is how you will see God operate in your life. Don’t be surprised if you are stingy with your expectations and the way you expect God to show up if that’s exactly how you see Him. But if you will grow that faith, begin to wrap your mind around God’s love and provision being limitless and incomprehensible to our human minds, He will astound you with His presence and provision!
Just like in the parable of the talents. those who gave more got more in return. And the servant who held back, got cast into the outer darkness. Perhaps what we deem as “playing it safe” is actually just lacking faith that God can and will come through for us.
Choose today to begin to grow your faith. Daily renew your mind, get in alignment with God, and expect to see Him show up in all the ways, in both the major and minor things. Interestingly, I recently learned that it takes just as much work to solve large problems as small, so no matter the size, bring it before God and have faith that He will lead you through it in the best possible way. Anticipation is key!
Until Next Time!
Hope.
PS. Keep reading: https://www.theamericanlady.com/2024/05/01/the-parable-of-talents/