A few weeks ago, one of our pastors gave an inspirational message on waiting. He brought up the fact that many, if not all of us, do not like to wait. It can be frustrating, annoying and even distressing to not see the immediate fulfillment of what we are waiting for. We live in an instant-gratification society and, I think, have lost the knack of waiting properly. I have often described my own seasons of waiting as times of “spinning my wheels” or of “treading water”, times in life when everything seemed to be “on hold”. However, waiting is not supposed to be a time of inactivity. When we wait for God to answer our prayers for one thing or another, we shouldn’t shut the rest of our lives off and become stagnant. Waiting can actually be a time of great growth when we are spiritually attuned to God’s activity.



“I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living! Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!” Psalm 27:13-14

God is never inactive. He is always working out His plan for our lives, in every day and in every moment. When we are anxiously waiting for something, keeping our focus on that one thing, we can become distracted and miss the activity of the Lord all around us. That has happened to me way too many times. So, this year, I am changing the way that I wait.

My focus word for 2015 is “Expectancy”. Our God is a great God and I am expecting great things! The Lord is not a mediocre God, so why have I been expecting mediocre activity from Him? No longer I am going to keep Him in my little man-made, manageable, box. Everything God does is good – everything! Even when something happens that is not pleasant, I know God will use that experience for the good. I have learned this over and over, and yet, I have still tended to look to the future with a bit of trepidation or dread. Well, not any more!

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, 
according to his power that is at work within us.” Ephesians 3:20

As this year unfolds, I don’t want to simply sit back on my laurels and watch life go by, waiting for some “thing” to happen. I am going to be active as I wait for God’s plan to unfold. While I wait for prayers to be answered, I will look for God’s activity in other areas of my life. While I seek to understand the ways He answers my prayers, I will draw closer to Him. And, as I incline my ear to Him, I will allow Him to grow, shape and lead me.

Last year, my focus word was “Courage”. Through it, God taught me to step out in faith and to fully trust Him. Now, I am going to use those new skills and put them further into action as I wait upon Him with joyful expectancy!


With expectancy,






18 Comments

  1. I love this word of yours, Joan, and this message. I still feel in this period of waiting but I so agree with what you've said, "Waiting can actually be a time of great growth when we are spiritually attuned to God’s activity." And God is always moving. There is such comfort in remembering that truth. I look forward to another year of journeying through life with you. We need a chat session soon to catch up. Much love. xoxo

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  2. Sounds great, Beth! I love our "chat sessions"! God is always doing such great things and this year will be no different! I'm excited about where He will lead us!


    Blessings & love, Joan

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  3. I love your word, expectancy. You have given us such a wonderful reminder that our God is always active even when we do not see Him at work. Looking forward to seeing how this word unfolds in your life. Blessings!

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  4. I love this. Too often we expect the next "shoe to drop." I think I'm showing my age. ;-) Anyway, I love that your expectancy is joyful. So much is in our attitude and what we anticipate. Thank you for being such an encourager of hope in my life. Blessings!

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  5. I love the word you chose. My "tag line" for this year's theme is "bold and expectant" as I seek to "Pray Big." Love how our 2 themes tie together, and I can't wait to read more here in the weeks to come. Hugs

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  6. Hi Joan :)
    Your Word for 2015, was my word last year. I hope and pray it will be a great blessing to you over the year. God bless

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  7. Thanks, Joanne! It is so easy to "forget" that God is always working when we get distracted with challenges in our path. So this year, I am purposely focusing on His activity and reminding myself that He is bigger and greater than I can even imaging!


    Blessings, Joan

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  8. LOL -- maybe it is not age, but experiences instead! I've decided, though, to stay positive, remembering how wonderful our God really is! I'm excited for His plan to unfold!


    Blessings, Joan

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  9. Choosing a tag line is a great idea! Why stick with just one word? :-) I can already feel the greatness of God's plan as I look to Him. I'm so excited pray bigger, trust more and come to Him with more joyful expectation than ever before! I think that's what He wants from us...to not put our man-made boundaries on Him. God can and does do more than we can even dream!


    Blessings, Joan

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  10. Thanks, Anita! It already has been as I shift my focus from dread to excitement! Blessings to you! Joan

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  11. Awww waiting - such a hard thing for me. I love your word for this year and I join you in wanting to anticipate great things from God. Happy 2015!

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  12. Yes, so powerful! I'm keeping my focus on Him as I wait with joyful expectancy!

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  13. My word for this year is simply `faith`

    I am visiting from Spiritual Sundays.

    http://newhorizonreviews.blogspot.com/

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  14. I love the word expectancy. It alludes to something better around the corner and the chance to be blessed in a big way because while you are taking action God will continue to work with and through you. I will pray that your expectant heart as you lean into hearing from God blesses you greatly. Thank you for sharing at The Weekend Brew.

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  15. Exactly! I'm assuming the best rather than the worst! God always has our best in mind, so I am focusing on that! Blessings, Joan

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  16. Sharita KnoblochJanuary 10, 2015

    Wonderful Word, Joan-- its just FULL of Jesus. I look forward to watching God work through it in your life this year :-)

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  17. Patricia KrankJanuary 11, 2015

    "Waiting" is a good word and it is so hard for most of us to do. I've recently come to the end of a wait and I only now realize the value of that time. My reliance on God became so much greater during those months of not knowing how or when God would answer my prayers, and the end of the wait has so much more meaning to me than it would have if God had answered my prayers right away.

    Thank you for sharing Joan and blessings to you,
    Patti

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  18. Thanks, Sharita! I'm keeping my eyes open and am leaning in to Him!

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