The Lord has promised to never abandon us. We can expect His grace and goodness in our lives–no matter what the circumstance. Living with this expectation brings hope.
A birthday gift from my husband, Lonny, recently reminded me that with the Lord, I can live expectantly. I can always hold hope.
“My gift for you is simple,” he said.
We were celebrating in a cottage in the Michigan woods. The boys had given me a vintage pin and a small box of earrings. Thirteen-year-old Samuel carved a watermelon that looked like a frog. Someone had remembered to pack the HAPPY BIRTHDAY banner that we usually hang in the arched doorway of our dining room. Now it was Lonny’s turn to share his gift.
It was in a simple black bag.
The gift was a plain black scarf.
I understood the meaning immediately, but Lonny put words to my thoughts.
“It’s for our car rides,” he said. “I’m looking forward to good things.”
Earlier in the summer, Lonny and I had done something that was unlike practical us. We bought a black convertible. I then found a well-loved picnic hamper at a yard sale, and every Friday night became date night.
It’s low key–usually a picnic and music along the Mississippi River. But it didn’t take many rides to discover that the sun on our shoulders meant a wild mess of hair for me. A scarf solved the problem.
And Lonny’s gift was an offering of expectation.
When we live expectantly, we have hope.
It makes me think of my relationship with the Lord. We can never be sure of what this life will bring. I’m working through things that I wouldn’t have imagined. Jesus never promised a struggle-free life.
But He did promise He’d never leave.
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of age. (Matthew 28:20, NIV)
That’s the game changer. Instead of being lost in circumstance, clawing through the grit of despair, I can hold hope. The Lord is always active and present in my life. There is no place I’ll travel that He will not go. His grace and strength can fill me, and even in uncertain situations, I can be certain of His love.
I have hope. I have a future. I’m a child of God and I’ve been redeemed by the love of Jesus.
Living expectantly, taking each day breath-by-breath and knowing that no matter what, He’ll go beside me, frees me from worry. It relieves my stress. Fear takes a backseat to His glory.
“Do you like it?” Lonny asked.
I kissed his cheek. It was vacation-bristly and ruddy from the sun.
“I love it,” I said.
I want to live expectantly, too, with hands and heart open to God’s goodness.
