New Year's Expectation

As we enter the New Year the question the Lord is asking is, “What are you
expecting from Me in the coming year?” In John Maxwell’s book The 21
Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, the first law is “The Law of the Lid,”
which deals with the limits we put on ourselves and others put on us. We all
deal with limitations, whether it is time, finances, environment, culture,
abilities, etc. I visualize these as the box that we live in.

God, however, has no limitations. He lives outside of the box of our
limitations, and His desire is to draw us outside of our limitations into His
limitlessness. In Ephesians 3:20-21, Paul concludes a magnificent prayer that
our understanding of God would be enlarged by saying, “Now to Him who is able to
do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power
that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all
generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

There are several key statements in these verses. First, God
is able to do far more than we can imagine in our box.
Secondly, the power to do these unimaginable things is at work
in us. So, the potential is there! Thirdly, if we allow God’s
unlimited potential to work in us, it will bring glory to His name. But in order
for these amazing things to happen, we need to begin to expect them to happen.
Here are three reasons we need to get up every morning expecting great things
from God.

Expectation causes us to seek God with persistence.

Psalms 123:2 “Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their
masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes
wait upon the Lord our God, until that he have mercy upon us.”

Jesus exhorted us to "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will
find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7

Expectation causes us to believe God fervently.

Matt 17:20 “For assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed,
you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and
nothing will be impossible for you.”

Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who
comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who
diligently seek Him.”

Expectation causes us to yield to God.

The problem oftentimes is we want to bring God into the limitations of our
box. We expect God to do things in a certain way within the limitations of human
thinking, understanding and ability. We often want to maintain control, do
things our way. The only way to get out of our box into a limitless God is to
yield totally to Him. When you get on a plane, you lose all control. If you are
afraid to give up control, you will never fly.

I would encourage you as you enter the New Year, to expect great things from
God. Let Him stir up your vision of His greatness and what He has prepared for
you. Yield to Him in faith, and allow Him to carry you out of the box of your
limitations into His limitlessness.

Andy Clark