"Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms. And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God." (Acts 3:1-8).
When you hear a woman say, "I'm expecting!" it makes you feel joyful and happy. This should be one of the happiest times in the parents' lives as they are preparing for the arrival of their new baby. They want to tell everyone. I remember when the doctor told me I was expecting my first child, I wanted to stop strangers on the street and tell them! I was excited! Then the preparation began.
When the news comes that a baby is on the way, there is much to be done. The parents buy a crib and all the necessities that come with a new baby. The clothes, the diapers, car seat, high chair, swing, toys, blankets, and anything else that is needed is purchased. A room in the house is then transformed into the nursery for this new baby to sleep. The mother changes her diet to make sure she eats healthy. She exercises and stays active so that delivery will be easier. Then one of the most important decisions concerning this child -who hasn't even arrived yet- is choosing the name. The name will be with the child for the rest of his or her life. The name is usually chosen before the child is born. All of these things and more are done in the weeks and months leading up to the birth. You can always tell when a couple is expecting, because that is all they talk about. They always talk about the arrival of their new baby and how excited they are. They are constantly making everything ready for the baby. That is why we call it "expecting": they are expecting and anticipating the child's arrival. They wait for the day. They long for the day. They prepare for the day. They don't just sit back for the nine months and just wait for the baby to be born. They are busy preparing and getting ready for this child.
So it is with our spiritual life. God has given us many promises in His Word. We know that He always keeps His promises, but all of us can name promises that we haven't seen come to pass yet. So, we can say, that we are expecting these promises to come to pass. Now, we don't just sit and wait for God to just drop these promises in our laps. We must prepare for them. We must get ready for them. We must change our lifestyles, we must make room in our lives for the promise. We must anticipate daily the arrival of this promise. We must even name the promise. We do this by daily saying, "God, I claim your promise of _________" (put the name of the promise in the blank. For example "healing", "peace", "joy", "direction", "favor", "deliverance", "salvation", "protection". "provision", "household salvation",.......) Whatever it is that God wants you to have, you must expect it. You must look for it. You must anticipate it's arrival. Don't give up. When the time comes, the deliverance will come and that promise will be birthed in your life!
The man in the above Scripture was expecting something from Peter and John. He anticipated help. He focused on receiving his help, and got his miracle. Are you expecting a miracle today? Have you given up hope? You must believe before you can receive. Expect God to do what He says He will do. Take Him at His Word. He cannot and will not lie. He does not forget His promises. He will bring it to pass if you don't lose faith.
"For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith." (Mark 11:23).
You must believe that it will come to pass. You must expect it. You must prepare for it. Begin the preparation today; then every day thank God for your promise. Then as you prepare for it and anticipate it's arrival, it will happen; just like He said it would!
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