The Eyes of Expectation

400 years of silence deafen the time between the Old Testament, that ends with Malachi, and the New Testament that starts with the gospels of, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. This was a time where God decided not to speak! He was not using prophets or signs to communicate with His people any more. When the words of the gospels began to happen you can imagine the commotion, excitement, elation, and passion that people who believed in God were having. You can also imaging the disgust, hate, resentment, and fear that those that did not believe in God were having!

There are two instances that I have found where the word expectation (Hebrew: prosdokao) is used. I am not saying that there isn't more but these are the two that God has shown me. In the third chapter of the gospel of Luke we see that John the baptist is preparing the way for Jesus to come. It says in Luke 3:15-16, "As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, John answered them all, saying, 'I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.'" The people were in expectation. They were expecting great things from John the baptist but he knew that they should expect more from the One that was coming-Jesus Christ. 

In Acts chapter three Peter and John were going to the temple during the hour of prayer. There was a man that was paralyzed from birth who was carried to the temple and laid there before the gate and asked for alms. As Peter and John made their way to the temple they encountered this lame man; and they ask him to look at them. Then verse five says, "And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them." This lame man saw these two men and was expecting something.

Just like the people expecting something from John the baptist and the lame beggar expecting to receive something from Peter and John. We should look to God with those same eyes of expectation. The eyes of expectation is best explained by reading 2 Chronicles 20:12b, which says, "We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

The people who were in the midst of John the baptist had eyes of expectation. They were looking on with an expectation that John did not fill but he pointed them to the one who would exceed their expectations-Jesus. The lame beggar was looking at Peter and John, upon their requests (Acts 3:4), with eyes of expectation. They could not meet his physical need, which was silver or gold, but they had something that would exceed his expectation-Jesus. 
​
In light of these two passages of Scripture, we need to live lives that have an expectation that God will work! The God that I worship, the God that I pray to, the God that I live for is the same God that is found in the Bible! We live like He is not! We must live like God will exceed every expectation and He will meet every need we have. Even when we have questions like the people in Luke chapter three or have no hope like the lame beggar; we must have eyes of expectation.