“looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.”
Hebrews 12:2
We each have a story. We could fill pages with the lessons we have (and have not) learned and as time passes our chapters may be filled with more heartbreak, unexpected cliff hangers or endings than we ever could’ve predicted.
For me, there was a way I expected my life to go, a general “order” of events, but deep down I knew that I shouldn’t have any expectations because I would be setting myself up for disappointment. Subconsciously though, I had a “plan” and projected my hopes and dreams into the future.
After graduating High School I remember my world feeling wide open, I felt like I didn’t have any clear direction and one by one Jesus showed me that I needed to let go of my expectations. I knew my life was in God’s hands and I needed Him to guide me, I couldn’t depend on my parents or my feelings —I had to walk in faith and trust God that no matter what lay ahead He was ordering my steps. (Prov. 16:9, Psalm 37:23) The verse and lyrics at the bottom of this post became my comfort and song.
Now I’m almost 23 and I look back at the time since I graduated High School and some seriously heart-breaking, disappointing things have happened. But God has never disappointed me. He has been with me and strengthened me in each changing season. As I sit here things have happened (and not happened) that a 16 year old me never would have never foreseen. Amazing, beautiful, once-in-a-lifetime things have also happened that I wouldn’t have thought to imagine for myself in my wildest dreams. And what leaves me in awe is that God did it. He knew (and still knows!) every desire in my heart and in His perfect timing He will fulfill them. I’ve learned that the deepest need and desire of my heart is Himself. When I place my expectation in Him my heart is at rest, free to trust and depend on my loving Father.
He knows your heart, the dreams your child-like heart dreams, and the hopes you have for the future. He knows. He’s a good Father and only gives good gifts to His children—He gave us Himself.
What word has been written into your story that you never would’ve chosen for yourself? Childless, single, jobless, homeless, lonely, displaced, betrayed, divorced, sick, bankrupt, orphaned, fatherless, hungry? …No matter where you are in your story, surrender it to Him. He is the Restorer and Redeemer of hearts. When your story is not going as you expected, remember that it’s not the end. There will be pages of loss, discomfort, suffering, heart-break, and grief—look to Him for strength, wisdom, and guidance in the trial. Stop worrying about what will come next, living in disappointment, or coveting someone else’s journey. Place your expectation in Jesus and watch as He works wonders in you-beyond anything you could ever think or imagine, His ways and thoughts are higher. In the end, when you look back, you’ll realize that even when you couldn’t see it His purpose, grace, and sovereignty was written on every page.
Trust His loving hand that wrote your story into the pages of time. Before you were ever a thought in any human’s mind — you were in His.
“Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” – Psalm 27:14
All of my life, in every season
You are still God,
I have a reason to sing.
I have a reason to worship.
– “Desert Song” by Hillsong