Anticipation...

In Psalm 62, the writer describes moments of waiting, and what I believe can be a sense of expectation in our own lives, as we approach God with a sense of faith, wonder, and anticipation...
(1) Truly my soul silently waits for God; From Him comes my salvation.2He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved.AND5My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my expectation is from Him.

Hmmm...in our culture today, there is plenty of speculation to go around.   We can become anxious about what we think might happen in our own lives.  People frequently wonder about sports or entertainment questions, or who might run in the next election or what our elected leaders might do.    Sometimes it is fun to try to predict an outcome, often it is futile...but, you know, while we cannot always know how God is going to work in a situation, we can be confident that He is working for our good and His glory.   I believe our faith can be strengthened as we develop and reinforce a sense of anticipation about what He will do - if we come before His throne with expectancy, we can be encouraged that He will respond to us and demonstrate His love and faithfulness, acting in accordance with His Word.   So, we ask, when we come before the Lord, do we have an earnest expectation of Him showing up, speaking to us, fulfilling His Word?

In Ephesians 3, we find another of those amazing prayers of the apostle Paul for those who have come to know Christ, and He prays that we would...
(19) know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.20Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,21to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.

The waiting is over - fans of the BBC science fiction series "Doctor Who" now have their answer.   The next actor to play the fascinating character only known as "The Doctor" who travels through time and space in a blue telephone box is...

Peter Capaldi, a 55-year-old British actor who, quite frankly, looks the part, grew up a fan of the series, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this November, and will be introduced in the Christmas episode as the 12th Doctor, replacing Matt Smith, who has magnified the role over the last 4 years.   The series began in 1963, and resumed in 2005 after leaving the air in 1989.   The announcement of Capaldi took place in a live, made-for-TV event on the BBC that featured an in-studio discussion and clips of the series.   The Twittersphere was blowing up over the anticipation of the announcement.

And, in something that may have had more attention in years past than now, after a season in which it took a ratings freefall, "American Idol", with new people in charge, seems poised to announce that Jennifer Lopez will return to the judges' chair, joining the only holdover from last season, Keith Urban.   Who else?   Who cares?  Yawn.

We're greatly anticipating the start of college football season around Alabama and the Southeast US - and there are plenty of questions to go around:   Can Alabama win its 3rd straight national championship?  Who will be the starting quarterback as Auburn tries to rebound from one of the worst seasons in history?   Prior to yesterday, there were followers of Major League Baseball who were questioning the fate of Alex Rodriguez, and on the day that it was announced that he would be suspended for the rest of this season and all of the next for using a banned substance, he started last night's game for the Yankees and went 1-for-4 in an 8-1 loss.  His suspension begins this Thursday.

It seems there is a constant flurry of anticipation in the world today...we spend our time wondering and waiting, sometimes expectantly, sometimes in dread, but we find ourselves prone to speculate.

If only we had even a greater sense of anticipation for what God wanted to do in our lives.   For thousands of years, people waiting for the Messiah to come, and for four hundred years after the pronouncement of the prophet Malachi, there were no more words from the Lord, until....

Jesus came to the earth in human form to fulfill the years of anticipation.   For those who came to know Him and followed Him, wow, they could rightly and enthusiastically say that "The One" had arrived!!   And, His coming changed everything and more than fulfilled the wishes of those who might have awaited a Redeemer.

Some are still waiting, even though Jesus certified that He was the Son of God by fulfilling hundreds of prophecies, including those that described His death in Psalm 22, and He demonstrated His victory of the power of death by His resurrection.  

Now, as believers in Christ, we follow the Most High God, who is at work in powerful ways in the world today - He is very active, but we have to ask ourselves if we approach Him with anticipation, a sense of expectation of what He will do - in answers to our prayers, in response to the gathering of His people corporately, in an expression of His love in the midst of worship.   We can find ourselves speculating about the world of entertainment or sports or wondering what is going to happen in the circumstances of our own lives and not even give a thought about God's will for our lives, abiding in a sense of wonder about what He is about to do - the One who promised that He will do exceedingly abundantly beyond all we ask or think - in Christ, through our relationship with our living and loving Savior, we find someone who will completely fulfill our lives and do amazing things!