Restful Anticipation Devotional: Find Contentment in Seasons of WaitingSample

Sometimes our expectations can cloud our vision of what God wants to do in our lives. In a race against our own timeline and plans, we can miss the work of God right before our eyes. This happened in Jesus’ day. The religious leaders and some bystanders failed to recognize what was happening when Jesus died on the cross. They expected an earthly king, one to take over and change the political climate in favor of the Jews. When they saw Jesus dying on the cross, they missed the significance. They thought the hope for this political Messiah was over. But Jesus had much bigger plans than a local government takeover. His goal was to rescue mankind from sin, death, and darkness. There are times we too can become like the religious people, wrapped up in our expectations, missing the miracle God performs right before our eyes.

I wonder how many people bore witness to Jesus’ death, who shrugged their shoulders and walked away. Perhaps some people thought, just another criminal, just another day. Or it’s just Jesus from Nazareth, the carpenter’s son. While others pondered, too bad, thought he would do something for the nation, but guess not. I wonder if those same people made the connection to the Divine after He breathed His last breath and darkness covered the sky. Did they finally put the pieces together after water and blood poured from his side? After the earthquake, maybe? Or when word spread of His resurrection? We tremble at these stories over 2000 years later. But some people saw Jesus with their own two eyes and still missed it. Their tightly held expectations of how God would save them, their familiarity with Jesus, and maybe even the fear of what others would think, all played a part in missing the most historically and spiritually significant moment of all time. What if our miracle comes in a different package than we expected? Will we miss it?

Peter Scazzero says it this way, “Anytime we are clinging to or resisting something, we aren’t surrendered.” In our waiting season, it’s imperative that we surrender our tightly-held expectations and timetables. Today, take time to examine what you might be clinging to or resisting. Take time to ask God to help you fully surrender to His plan and His timeline. Releasing our expectations might be the first step in spotting the miracle right before our eyes.

Prayer:

Dear Lord, thank you that your ways are higher than my ways and your thoughts are higher than my thoughts. Thank you for your plan, even if it looks different than my expectations. Help me to let go of any unrealistic expectations or expectations that differ from your plan. Help me to surrender those to you fully, to trust your plan every step of the way. Help me to trust you fully. Amen.