Expectation

My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. ~ Psalm 62:5 KJV

Expectation.

This word has been resonating in my ears for about a week. A friend invited me to a conference, a Princess conference to be specific. She invited me because that’s what Holy Spirit said. I had great expectation of what God was going to do as the conference approached and especially throughout it. There was something specific I was hoping God would do. I didn’t know how or where He would show up, but I fully expected to receive from Him.

The thing I love about God is not just where He shows up, but how, because it’s always more: more than we expected, more than we thought possible. Walking into that conference with great expectations of what God would do, I was not disappointed! Awe, amazement, beauty, and excitement are just a few of the ways to describe it. Because He didn’t just give me what I was hoping for in that moment. Instead, He revealed a path toward fulfilling a hidden desire, one that’s been buried in my heart. And though I was willing to move forward without it, He fulfilled it because He can, because He’s God.

Expectation means to bind yourself—your hope, your expectation—to someone or something. When we bind ourselves to men and objects in this world, we will often be disappointed, if not devastated. But when we bind ourselves, through expectation, to God we will never be disappointed because He is the God who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask or imagine.

To what or to whom have you bound yourself?

©Heather Potts 2016

Comforted

I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. ~ John 14:18 KJV

Something woke me early this morning and the enemy was quick to pounce on me with condemnation. In my exhausted state, it took me a moment to recognize what was happening, but when I did I said, “This is condemnation.” Even though the speaking stopped, the images lingered, until God spoke and I heard my Father say, “Come away with Me. Draw away with Me and leave everything else behind.” I saw Him holding me; I was safe and secure in my Father’s arms. He turned me around, still holding me close to His chest. With a single word, He disbanded all the enemy’s lies. He said, “See. Everything is fine.”

When I got out of bed and into my God-chair, I had a strong urge to read my Bible, to find comfort there, but I didn’t know where to begin because the chapter I’ve been studying felt dry. Holy Spirit led me. When I opened up my laptop, one of the Bible study sites I use opened to John 14:18. Holy Spirit showed me that in this scripture God promises to never send me away from Him, deprived and desolate, bereaving a death, like one without a Father. Instead, He will come from one place and into another for me.

Father, thank you that though the enemy attacks and is ready to pounce, especially when I’m tired and vulnerable, You are greater and You come to comfort me and not leave me comfortless! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

©Heather Potts 2016

What If

He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. ~ Romans 8:27-28 MSG

In the middle of church this past Sunday, God spoke to me and asked me to do something—having nothing to do with the sermon. I’ve been running His words between my hands, as though a slinky was shifting back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. If I do this action, it could be this outcome, or that outcome, or another outcome. After running that slinky several times, I finally said, “God I can’t do it. It can’t be me—it will only make things worse than they are now.” But God said, “What if it’s better? What if it’s more?”

That last question, “What if it’s more,” is where He really got me because the possibilities in God are endless…and infinitely better than I could achieve on my own. But first, I must be obedient. I must make that first move…and take that first step. And it’s actually taking that step—doing what He’s asked—that scares me. The “what if’s” are endless… But He reminds me that the outcomes don’t have to be negative, because He works all things together for good. Every time I begin to worry or fear, I hear Him whisper, “What if it’s more?”

If there’s something that God’s calling you to do, push aside the fear and worry and do it anyway. Though the enemy has already cast thousands of possible negative outcomes, Holy Spirit whispers, “What if it’s better? What if it’s more?”

©Heather Potts 2016