Waiting with Expectancy

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(Editor's Note: This blog was written by Kennedy Green, who is interning at AFA during the Summer.)

Waiting has a way of changing us.

At first, we wait with excitement. We imagine how everything will unfold and anticipate the day God fulfills what He has promised. As time passes, however, excitement can slowly become confusion. Confusion can become disappointment, and disappointment can leave us discouraged, weary, and questioning whether anything is happening at all.

If we’re honest, many of us have asked difficult questions while we wait. "Did I hear God correctly? Has He forgotten about me? Why does it seem like everyone else’s prayers are being answered except mine?"

Waiting has a way of revealing what is in our hearts. It exposes our fears, doubts, desire for control, and our struggle to trust God when we cannot see what He is doing. Yet waiting is also one of the places where God often grows our faith the most.

There is a difference between hope and expectancy. Hope often says, “I desire for this to happen.” Expectancy says, “I trust the One who made the promise will follow through.” Our expectancy is not rooted in our emotions or circumstances, but in the unchanging and unfailing character of God. We must not depend on feelings alone. Our emotions may rise and fall, but God’s faithfulness toward us never changes.

One example of expectancy in Scripture is found in Abraham’s life.

In Genesis 15, God promised Abraham descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. The promise seemed impossible because Abraham and Sarah were older, and Sarah had not been able to have children. Yet God invited Abraham to look at the stars and reminded him of what He had spoken. Abraham chose to believe God even when he could not yet see the fulfillment of the promise.

Believing God’s promise, however, did not remove the waiting. Years passed. The promise remained, but the fulfillment had not yet arrived. As the waiting grew longer, Abraham and Sarah grew weary. Eventually, they took matters into their own hands and tried to accomplish God’s promise through their own plan. What they believed would solve their heartache and pain only caused more conflict and emotional strain. (Genesis 16)

How often do we do the same thing?

Maybe we are waiting for healing, direction, restoration, a relationship, or an answer to a prayer we have carried for years. As the waiting continues, we begin to wonder if God has forgotten us. We become tempted to force open doors God has not opened, settle for less, or rely on our own will instead of trusting Him fully.

Sometimes we think expectancy means waking up every day feeling excited and confident. In reality, expectancy is often much quieter than that. Expectancy is choosing to trust God’s word when our emotions tell us to give up. It is continuing to pray when we do not yet see answers. Believing that God is still working even when His work is invisible to us. Knowing that He will keep His covenant with us, just as He kept His covenant with Abraham. Through it all, we trust and believe that God is faithful to provide, regardless of how we feel.

Holding onto expectancy does not mean waiting is easy.

It means bringing our disappointment, questions, and fears to the Lord instead of allowing them to pull us away from Him. God does not shield us from suffering or heartache during the wait. He is not intimidated by our questions, nor is He surprised by our weariness. Throughout Scripture, we see people who wrestled honestly with God while continuing to trust Him. David cried out, “How long, O Lord?” yet continued to praise God’s faithfulness. Job questioned and grieved through unimaginable loss yet refused to abandon the Lord. Abraham wrestled with waiting on God’s promise but still walked with the Lord. Joseph remained faithful through betrayal, slavery, and imprisonment before seeing God’s plan unfold. Their faith was not perfect, but it was genuine.

So how do we hold onto expectancy while we wait?

First, we know who God is before focusing on what we are waiting for. Meaning — pursue God during your wait to know him fully. If you don’t know the Promise-keeper, how will you be able to steward the promise? Remain in his Word and seek his face. Our confidence has never been in the promise itself; it has always been in the One who made it.

Second, we resist the temptation to compare our timeline to someone else’s. God works uniquely in every person’s life, and comparison often steals the joy and peace He wants us to experience.

Third, we continue to remain faithful in the present season. Waiting is never wasted when God is involved. Even when we cannot see Him moving around us, He is still working within us.

Finally, we choose to surrender our control. Waiting often reminds us that we are not the author of our own lives. While that can feel uncomfortable, it is also where peace begins to grow. We can rest because our future is held securely in the hands of a faithful, loving, and trustworthy God.

Currently, I am learning what expectancy looks like in my own life, and I have discovered that even through worry, impatience, frustration, and disappointment, God is still going to provide. He has not forgotten you. He has not left you. He will do exactly what He said He will do. My devotion to the Lord is not based on when or how quickly God meets my need; it is rooted in the realization that even in my waiting, He is still my faithful Father, and any word he has spoken will not turn void. His character never changes.

If you find yourself in a season of waiting and expectation feels exhausting, take heart. Your waiting is not evidence that God is doing nothing. It is evidence that He is inviting you to rest in His presence.

I would challenge you, while you are waiting, to dwell in His presence. Be available to Him. Do not turn away; draw near. In these hard and painful moments, the Lord will comfort you and reveal Himself to you. Do not pull away from Him—press on.

Hold onto your expectancy—not because you know how your story will unfold, but because you know the Author who is writing it.

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