So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand – Isaiah 41:10

We all have expectations. Some of us have expectations of how we think our life will turn out and we plan accordingly towards a goal or a time frame, only to reach that time and find ourselves standing empty handed, our dreams nowhere to be found. Some of us have expectations for our children and the life they will lead, yet the children grow up and go in the complete opposite direction to what we had hoped. And some of us have expectations of being loved and valued and treated well by people, only to have those expectations shattered when we are treated poorly over and over. We have no guarantee that life will meet our expectations and it is at times safer to not have any. However, there is one expectation that we can have and we can be confident it will be met: that God loves us and goes before us and will never leave us. We can fully expect to see God’s kindness and provision in our lives. We can fully expect to feel His love and grace pour out over us. Why? Because He promised that He would never leave us nor forsake us. He calls us His beloved in His Word. And He proved His love for us by sending us His Son. No matter what your weekend has looked like, I pray that you can face this week with a sense of great expectation for what God will do. I pray you can call out to Him with an expectant heart. Because if there is one thing we can expect, it is that God will show up when we cry out and will wrap His arms around us.

Father, we thank you that You are faithful. Thank you for your promises to us that we know will come to pass in your time for your glory. Would you give us expectant hearts as we seek You and wait to see Your glory. In Jesus’s name, amen.