Expecting What I am Expecting!

I hope you’re not too tired of hearing me say this… but I was listening to a short audio clip of one of Piper’s recorded church sermons… it’s not like she preached a lot in the adult service, but when she did we always got a copy… and she was giving an example of the need for consistency in the building of our faith in the various areas of our lives.  She spoke in particular, about her need to hear quickly and clearly from the Lord when she went grocery shopping… with four kids at her side.


She learned a lesson early on about shopping with young kids when Joshua first became adapt to walking on his own.  I wasn’t with her at the time when the two of them went shopping at our local Lucky’s grocery store.  Up until that point, Piper had always seated Josh in the basket but on that day, he was getting a little squirmy and wanted down.  So, Piper finally relented, lifted him out of the basket and placed him next to her, standing on his own.  Well, before she could take his hand… he was gone!  

I remember laughing so hard when she vividly described how she had to literally run, red faced with embarrassment and some anger, after him through the aisles in the store until she finally caught up to him.  From that point on, with the other three kids, she chose to train them to walk next to her from a very young age… instead of just keeping them in the basket!

So, for her, shopping with the kids, on her busy schedule was a big deal and she naturally sought the Lord’s assistance… as she tended to do for every area of her life.  Some people may think (and some actually confronted her concerning the involvement of her faith in her day to day life) that this was un-needed, but you wouldn’t be able to convince her of that!


When I flipped off the tape, I turned to the dog laying near the front door, and declared with a smile, that “she had such a practical application of her faith.”  Her walk with Jesus was just who she was and what she did!  Then today as I was reading once again from Ephesians 3:20 in The Message paraphrase version of the Bible, it dawned on me that God actually encourages us to dream and to dream big… IN, THROUGH and FOR Christ… with a practical application of our faith, all along the way!  Paul declared that “God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!”


At times over the last two months since I moved here to Oklahoma, I have found myself overwhelmed with the goodness of God.  Like I said in my last post, He continues to do His “far more” in my life.  But you know, it kind of makes sense… for in many respects, I’ve come to expect it!  You see, Hebrews 11:1 states that: “Faith assures us of things we expect and convinces us of the existence of things we cannot see.” (God’s Word ©) 


I have to admit though, that it still surprises me when the manifestations of my faith appear.  I was loading my groceries into my car in the middle of the Walmart SuperCenter near our apartment on Wednesday when I got the call from our realtor that the seller had accepted our offer on the house we liked.  I couldn’t help but jump up and down and pump my fist a few times with excitement at the news.  Then on the way out of the parking lot, I had to stop and praise Him as I became overwhelmed with his goodness.  Yes, my faith told me that this was exactly what I had expected… but it still overwhelmed me!


Am I different from anybody else?  NO!  NO! and NO again!  Please don’t get the idea that I write this blog simply to pat myself on the back.  My heart-felt desire is to point YOU to HIM and the peace, power, joy, goodness and faithfulness of HIM and His Word… that any active, committed and consistent in-their-faith Christian can tap into.  


It’s what HE wants for you… wouldn’t you want it too?  As a Christian… it is ours for the taking with the prerequisite’s that I mentioned above.  Why wouldn’t we earnestly desire God’s best in and for and through our lives?


Have a wonderful weekend, and as you do, say with me… “I am expecting what I am expecting from God and His Word to manifest in my life today!” *



*Based on Hebrews 11:1 and Ephesians 3:20