6 minute read
Expectancy
Charles McMullen offers a reflection for the new year that invites us all to expect God to move in our lives and churches in a fresh way in 2025.
Now to him who is able…. It was around my 17th birthday and one of my first experiences of being behind the wheel. My father was in the passenger seat beside me as I negotiated the winding lane of my grandparents’ farm. I had a mounting fear that I would not be able to negotiate a 90-degree left-hand bend and, sure enough, as I plunged the car into the ditch I had my first experience of a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Realistically, as we look at the trajectory of our denomination in terms of declining congregations, closures and amalgamations, we can easily become despondent as we anticipate some of the sharp turnings ahead. However, none of these prophecies of doom should ever have the last word. On the contrary, I have been encouraged by many of the stories I have been reading in the Herald about exciting innovation and creative outreach, as well as underlining the faithfulness and devotion of so many of our people.
This is in keeping with a word that has been gripping me over these past few months: ‘expectancy’. As Paul writes to the Ephesians, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (3:20). These words speak reassuringly of a God of endless possibilities. In his letter to the Romans, Paul describes creation waiting “with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God” (8:19), a statement that should have us standing on tip toes or leaning forward, arms open, eyes wide, ears cocked, face attentive and hearts burning. God is going to move.
As followers of Jesus Christ, we can surely point to many times in our lives when prayer has been answered. I can certainly look back over my own life as the Lord has proved himself again and again to be faithful in the big picture and the tiny detail. But what about those other times when things have not gone according to plan and the car has careered off the road?
A lady recently shared in our morning services how she had been diagnosed with a debilitating condition that required invasive treatment which was not altogether successful. She prayed for healing but the answers did not come in the way she expected. Instead she found herself clinging to Jeremiah 33:3, “Call to me and I will answer you and show you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” She learned to be patient, to persevere, to lean on God and found the experience altogether humbling. She also sensed God’s presence in a fresh and deeper way.
Expectancy is about leaving ourselves in God’s hands for him to move and work, even in the deepest, darkest places of our lives.
As someone who has a deep love for God’s people, I have been confused, perplexed and even deadened inside when it comes to this area of what appears to be unanswered prayer. In those painful places it is good to be reminded that God is in control. As Charles Spurgeon wrote, “There is no attribute of God more comforting to his children than the doctrine of divine sovereignty. When you go through a trial, the sovereignty of God is the pillow upon which you lay your head.”
Expectancy is about leaving ourselves in God’s hands for him to move and work, even in the deepest, darkest places of our lives. Expectation, on the other hand, can so often be about God fitting in with our plans and purposes.
That contrast is illustrated in the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matthew 20). Those hired at the beginning of the day and have toiled hard for hours become indignant that they receive the same wage as those who are employed late in the afternoon. The Greek word here is the giveaway as it means to assume or feel entitled or owed. These first workers formed in their minds a picture of what ought to be, and anything more than that, or less than that, disappointed them. It must be this. It must be now. It must be my way. If not, I’m going off in a huff!
The Canadian writer Mark Buchanan draws the contrast in this way: “Expectation almost always sets us up to be disappointed, and once disappointment sets in, it quickly hardens into apathy, bitterness, and suspicion. Expectancy, on the other hand, sets us up to be thrilled. When we live in an attitude of expectancy, we’re rarely disappointed. Expectation says, ‘This specific thing must happen for me to welcome it.’ But when we live in the house of Expectancy, we say, ‘Something good is going to happen – I’m not sure what – and I’m here to welcome it.’”
Jesus could do no miracles wherever there was no expectancy, no faith and no sense that good could break forth amidst the tragic and mundane. So many of his hearers had the expectation of a Messiah who would come as a liberator and set them free from Roman occupation. They had made Jesus in their own image and were disappointed when he did not meet their expectations.
A Sunday school teacher told her seven-year-olds how to become Christians. Then she handed out pencils and slips of paper and invited the children, if they were ready to trust Jesus, to write, “I accept Jesus.” Many children did so, but one little boy got the wording muddled. Instead of writing “I accept Jesus,” he wrote “I expect Jesus.” It was actually a wonderful mistake to make. How about simply expecting Jesus? How about being more open to his plans and purposes?
All those years ago when I took the car off the lane, I would never have anticipated the reaction of my father who would have had every reason to have lost his temper. He may have been beyond himself, but he was the model of patience, kindness and understanding.
As followers of Jesus Christ, we do not have all the answers, but we have somewhere to go with our questions – a loving, heavenly Father whom we can trust when life does not make sense. A pillow on which we can rest a weary head. A Father who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.
Rev Dr Charles McMullen is minister of West Presbyterian Church, Bangor and a former PCI Moderator.
