Moving From Belief to Expectation By MaRita Teague "Do you believe in God, or do you have faith in Him?" As I listened to this question a pastor posed to the congregation, I sat reflecting about his point. The pastor explained that you can believe in God and His Word, yet never act. Faith, he explained, is when we put our belief in God and His Word into action. I wondered if I was acting in faith and expectation or just believing. A key component, I realized, is making sure that what we are praying for and believing God for is in line with His Word. If what we believe God for is in line with God's Word, we can readily expect God to do it. Expectation requires us to act in faith; we don't see it, but we act as we do because spiritually, we see it. When we expect God to do something, the worry, confusion, and fear subsides and we spend our time getting ready, positioning ourselves in expectation for what God is going to do. In Philippians 1:20, Paul says, "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." Here, Paul was facing the possibility of imprisonment and death, yet he remains focused and expects that Christ will be magnified whether he lives or dies. This is powerful because many times we wrap our expectation in material things, position or power, but when our goal is fixed on glorifying God, no matter what comes and goes, we can freely give our lives in joyful expectation. So, first we have to check ourselves are what our expectation is in. If it's in line with the Word, we are confident and can rest assured that God will perform it!
Shine in 2009! It's YOUR Time - expect a miracle!
 | 
