فصل 30

CHAPTER 30

From Believing to Expecting

I hope that by now you are making preparations for the good things God has in store for you. God has put dreams and desires in every one of our hearts. We all have promises that we’re standing on, things that we believe will come to pass. But almost always there’s a time of waiting involved. Maybe you’re waiting for a relationship to improve, waiting to get married, waiting for a promotion, or perhaps you are waiting to overcome an illness.

Much of life is spent waiting. There’s a right way to wait and a wrong way. Too often when things don’t happen on our timetable we get down and discouraged. Even though we have the promise in our heart, we give up and settle for the status quo. I believe it’s because we’re not waiting the right way.

The Bible says, “Be patient as you wait.” Notice, it doesn’t say if you wait, it says as you wait. The passage goes on to say, “See how the farmer waits expectantly.” That’s the key: We have to wait with expectancy. We’re not supposed to sit around thinking, My situation is never going to change. I prayed, I believed. But I don’t see how I can ever get out of this mess.

No, to wait with expectancy means that we are hopeful and positive. We get up every morning expecting good things. We may have problems, but we know this could be the day God turns it around. This could be the day I get the break that I need.

Waiting should not be a passive thing. Waiting the correct way means you are on the lookout. You talk as if what you believe is going to happen. You act as though it’s going to happen. You are making preparations.

If you are expecting someone for dinner, you don’t wait until the guest shows up at your door before you prepare for the meal. Most likely you start early in the day. You make sure the house is clean. You may go to the grocery store the day before; perhaps you will buy some flowers for the table and swing by the bakery to get your favorite dessert. You make all these preparations. Why? Because you’re expecting someone.

We need a similar attitude while we’re waiting for God’s promises to come to pass. It’s not enough merely to pray. We must put actions behind our prayers. The Scripture says: “Faith without corresponding actions is dead.” In other words, we can believe one way, we can talk one way, but if we’re not putting the right actions behind our faith, it’s not going to do any good.

Too often, we’re believing one way, but actions are demonstrating the opposite—we’re actually preparing for defeat. Maybe you come from a long line of divorce in your family. Instead of being afraid of ever getting married or worrying that your marriage will end in divorce, you need to start planning what you’re going to do on your first wedding anniversary, and on your fifth anniversary, and on your twenty-fifth anniversary. Speak words of vitality and life regarding your marriage. Don’t say, “I’m not sure our marriage is going to survive this strain.” Not any of this, “If we make it, maybe we’ll go on a cruise next year.” Get rid of the “if” and start saying, “When we make it!”

Stay hopeful and positive, and make preparations to succeed. We must understand there’s a difference between believing and expecting. You can believe to have a child and not even be pregnant. But once you go from believing to expecting, you kick into a different gear. When you are expecting, you’ll go furnish the nursery. You’ll buy clothes for a baby that’s not here. You’ll call your friends and relatives and let them know the good news. “Mom! Dad! A baby is on its way.” Even in the early stages of pregnancy, you start making all sorts of preparations. It affects your attitude, what you eat and drink, how you exercise, talk, and think.

You need to do something similar when God puts a dream in your heart. Maybe one of His promises comes alive in your heart and mind, and for the first time, you dare to believe that your family can be restored. You know you can be healthy again. You know you can accomplish your dreams. The first thing is you have to let the seed really take root. But you can’t stop there. You must move on from believing to expecting.

Scripture teaches, “We walk by faith, not by sight.” If you can see everything happening, you don’t really need any faith. But when you have nothing to stand on in the natural—and you start acting as though God’s Word is true, being positive and hopeful—you are putting actions behind your faith. That gets God’s attention. That’s what causes Him to work supernaturally in your life. What happened? You went from believing to expecting.

That’s what the leadership of Lakewood Church did when we were negotiating to move our congregation to the Compaq Center, former home of the National Basketball Association’s Houston Rockets. I announced to the congregation that we were going to raise funds to renovate the center before we really knew for sure that it was going to be ours. After we won the main city council vote, a company filed a lawsuit to try to keep us from moving in. Our attorneys told us there was no guarantee that we would win, and even if we did, the case could be tied up in the courts for up to ten years through various appeals.

From a logical business standpoint, I should have waited to see how everything was going to turn out. But down inside, I knew God wanted us to go forward. So I went from believing to expecting, and we started making preparations. Just like a young couple preparing the nursery, we started drawing the new plans, doing the studies, putting the vision out there.

It wasn’t always comfortable or easy. Many times, I’d wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. Those negative voices would pummel my mind, saying, “Joel, what are you going to do if you don’t get that building? You’re going to look like a fool! You’ve already encouraged people to donate their money to the cause. You’re going to have to give their money back.” And on and on.

I’d say, “God, I know You’re in control, and I’m not going to be moved by what I don’t see. I know You are bigger than our obstacles. And God, I believe at the right time, You will change things in our favor.” A year and a half later, that’s exactly what happened.

How does the farmer wait? Expectantly. How does he take care of his seed? By watering it, by pulling the weeds, by keeping the soil soft.

How do we water our seeds? By staying full of praise. By getting up every morning and thanking God that the answer is on the way. When negative thoughts threaten that it’s never going to happen, you’re never going to get well; you’re never going to get out of debt, pull those weeds by simply saying, “God, I know You are faithful. My trust and confidence is in You. I know You have great things in store for my life.” You protect your seed by having a grateful attitude of expectation.

Why not take a step of faith, plant a seed, do something that indicates to you and others that you are planning to succeed?

A lot of times, we are waiting for God to do something. “God, just give it to me on a silver platter.” But we must do our part by making preparations.

“Well, Joel, what if I do that and it doesn’t happen?”

Even if it doesn’t turn out the way you had hoped, you’ll still be better off to live your life positively and hopeful.

In the Old Testament, David said, “God, my times are in your hands.” He was saying, “God, I don’t know when it’s going to happen, but I know You know what’s best for me, so I’m going to expect good things. And even if it doesn’t happen today, I’m not going to go to bed disappointed. I’ll keep trusting that I am one day closer to seeing it come to pass.” Start making preparations to live a blessed life. Keep your vision in front of you and don’t believe the “never” lies: I’ll never get well. I’ll never see my dreams come to pass. No, shake that off, and stay positive and expectant.

Stretch your faith. Put some actions behind what you are believing God to do for you. Maybe you’ve just about given up on what God has put in your heart. You think your life is never going to get any better.

It can, but you must rekindle that fire.

The Scripture says, “Though the vision tarries, wait earnestly for it.” Notice, we can’t wait passively; we must wait earnestly and expectantly. What will happen when you do that? The Scripture passage goes on to say, “The vision will not be one second late.” That means when we stay in faith, positive, expectant, and hopeful, then all the forces of darkness cannot keep God from bringing those promises to pass.

How are you waiting for the good things of God? Learn to wait with expectancy. Get up every morning and water your seeds by thanking God that the answer is on the way. Then take it one step further and start making preparations for the dreams God has planted in your heart. Talk like it’s going to happen, act like it’s going to happen. Keep the right attitude. If you will go from believing to expecting, God promises that in due season, at the right time, He will bring you the desires of your heart.