The Alpha of Expectation

UV 3019/10000 The Alpha of Expectation
According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death
Philippians 1 v 20

Faith in Christ is expressed in terms of expectation and hope. We can expect that the Lord will never put us to shame. We can expect that the name of Christ will be glorified in our lives or even in our death. We need to hope and quietly wait for the Lord’s glory to be revealed in different aspects of our lives- physical, intellectual, spiritual, social, professional. This gives us the boldness or confidence to face different difficulties and challenges of life.

The benefits and blessings as well as answers to prayer we have received in the past also feeds and sustains our expectation that He will not fail or forsake us. It is not as if we can only expect good things to happen to the chosen of the Lord but even if something bad happens, it will have a specific purpose and the Lord will deliver the believer in that particular affliction. Even if He does not, we are to continue to trust the Lord and not question His sovereignty for as the exiled companions of Daniel said, “ Our Lord will deliver us from death and even if He does not we will not forsake our faith in Him.”

Our expectations are to be based on scripture and the leading of the Holy Spirit. He will speak to us and inform us if our expectation is of the Lord, if it is good, wholesome, pleasing to the Lord. St Paul in the above uni-verse reflects his single-minded devotion to the Lord and affirms that the basis of his hope and confidence is the love and faithfulness of Jesus to His promises to His followers. He had fully surrendered his life, his prospects, his future and his eternity into the hands of Jesus who had called him into ministry.