Hope So

Some of the most freeing moments of your life come when you surrender your expectations. Expectations of what you think your circumstances should be, when you should be experiencing success, how you think people should act, who you believe owes you for the damage they’ve caused, and even just the expectation of what you want today to be. Without realizing it, our minds create a world that depends on countless external factors to occur before you’ll let yourself be truly happy and content. Which means you’ll never be truly happy or content.

Let God transform your expectations from focusing on your external circumstances to your internal reality. Beyond your own choices, you have no control over what is going to happen today. But if you’ve asked Jesus into your life, then what you have is the power to meet each moment of this day with all he is for you. The word “hope” in the Bible is best translated as the expectation of seeing the goodness of God. Let go of relying on external expectations, and let him be your hope today, the living goodness you can expect to be there no matter what’s going on around you.

“I’m confident I’m going to see the goodness of the Lord here, in the land of the living. Through it all, I’ve learned this: Be brave, and never surrender your hope. Wrap your heart up in his, and he will strengthen it with all you need and more” (Psalm 27:13-14, paraphrased).