Hope vs Expectation

So many amazing and exciting things have been happening in the past few weeks, so I shouldn't have been suprised when I came under attack in the past week and a half on all sides.  But as happens in an attack, it can hit you hard, out of the blue and just be tough to stand up against no matter how many "weapons" you have in your arsenal.  I've just been fighting an uphill battle and life has just been...hard and tiring...as of late.  All the excitement I had a few weeks back was just becoming a distant memory.  And, then last week, I got this devotional email that really made me think about how I was looking at things in my life.  It has stuck with me several days, and I even woke up at 3am one day this week thinking on it some more and coming to some realizations.  I've copied it here and given the author credit so you can have the full effect vs. me trying to paraphrase.

The Difference Between Expectations and Hope


Copyright Debbie Taylor Williams, excerpt from The Plan A Woman in a Plan B World: What to Do When Life Doesn’t Go According to Plan

In college I received a plaque that had a photograph of a cocker spaniel and the caption, “Blessed are those who expect nothing, for they shall not be disappointed.” I paid little attention to the words, but I thought the picture of the dog was adorable and hung it on my dorm-room wall.

Months later, after a series of disappointments, the plaque’s words came alive to me. It’s true, I decided. If I don’t expect things of people or situations, then I won’t be disappointed when they don’t turn out the way I wanted. I lived with that philosophy for months. After a while, however, the mantra became unsettling. How does that philosophy fit with Christianity? I wondered. Aren’t Christians supposed to hope? Going to my Bible, I found numerous insights about hope and expectations. I learned that hoping in Christ brings peace and confidence. Expectations, however, can be land mines that damage relationships and cause despair.


The word expect or a derivative of it is used only thirty-one times in the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures. However, hope is used 139 times. Consider how expectations and hope are used in the following verses:
• “You are my hope; O Lord God, You are my confidence from my youth” (Ps. 71:5).
• “The hope of the righteous is gladness, but the expectation of the wicked perishes” (Prov. 10:28)
• “The desire of the righteous is only good, but the expectation of the wicked is wrath” (Prov. 11:23).


What do you notice about the way the above verses use the words expectations and hope?


The word hope is associated with the righteous, gladness, and goodness. The word expectation is associated with the wicked, perishing, and wrath. In researching the Hebrew definitions for hope and expectation in the above verses, I made an interesting discovery. The word for hope in Psalm 71:5 and for expectation in Proverbs 10:28 and 11:23 both mean “cord, ground of hope, things hoped for, outcome.” What does that tell us in relation to the above verses? Both the righteous and wicked have a cord to which they hold. Both have a ground of hope on which they stand. Yet the outcome for each is drastically different. Why?


We’ll discover the reason as we inspect the believer’s hope. We’ll learn that our expectations of others can be dangerous land mines that lead to disappointment— especially if our expectations are skewed or unrealistic. But hope placed in God leads to blessings.

Now that makes one think, doesn't it?  What I realized in the past week was that I had been praying a lot about certain circumstances...expectantly instead of hopefully.  I guess you could say I was telling God what I wanted and how and when I wanted it!  What a selfish and non-Christ centered way to pray!  I was upset when life wasn't going my way and I was gently reminded that we have never been promised an easy time of it as Christians (quite the opposite actually as in God's word says we WILL face trials and suffering).  I read a great quote by Sheila Walsh that said "Jesus did not come to get us out of the pain...He came to walk with us THROUGH the pain."  Can't get much clearer than that! 

We live in a fallen world and bad things happen to good people.  We all know someone, or maybe we are the person, who is jobless or worse homeless, been divorced, has cancer, lost a loved one, been cheated on or wronged in some way, facing financial woes, etc...basically life just didn't turn out how we thought it should.  Some weeks are just going to be tough, so just build a bridge and get over it!  But, keep looking up and keep your hope in the Lord, not in things, a job, person, etc.  It is biblical to have hope...just don't expect an outcome.  That's all up to God's perfect will and timing, not our own.  I was reminded of this again this week as I was driving home, frustrated about a tough day at work where I just felt beat down, and I looked down at the ring I wear and I kid you not, the HOPE side was facing up and staring me in the face.  Humbling and another good reminder that my hope was in the wrong thing at that moment (namely myself, which is not so bueno!) and I just needed a good ole attitude adjustment!  I couldn't control nor fix this problem on my own...but God sure can.

And I will be honest, there are a few situations in my life right now that I have a LOT of hope about...some exciting things that I'm taking a step out in faith with a little bit of shakey legs in the process.  But, I'm now praying for God's will to be done and not Joy's!  I'm full of hope and really excited about the next steps in my future...I've been given a second chance of sorts and the slate has been wiped clean.  I'm hopeful but not expecting...only God knows where this road will lead!

Hoping!

JOY