Expectations VS. Hope

Do you expect things from certain people? 

If you answered “no” to that question, then you probably haven’t thought it all the way through. Please continue reading. I believe that, depending on the circumstances we all expect things from other people. For example, when you go to a restaurant, you probably expect to be treated well by the host, waiters and/or waitresses, right? You expect the waiter or waitress to give you good service, to be polite, friendly and NOT screw up your order. In return for all that, they’re probably expecting a decent tip from you. 


Expectations often extend not just with people, but with things too. When you get in your car, you probably expect it to start right up, and get you where you’re going. When you buy a product, especially something that might have cost you a lot of money, you probably expect it to last for a long time, or you expect to at least get your money’s worth out of that product. (By the way, this is an area where I truly believe that you get what you pay for). 

But what happens when the expectations we have are not met? What usually happens more often than not is that it leads to frustration on our part. Take for example our kids. All their lives, we expect them to listen, to follow the rules, to do their chores, to be nice to their siblings, to be polite to their relatives, to keep their rooms clean, to do good in school, to say please and thank you, and the list goes on and on of the things we expect from our kids. And do our kids always live up to those expectations? Of course they don’t. But, here’s the important thing to remember. While they may not always live up to our expectations, we at least hope that they do. The key word being “hope.” This is what I want to discuss here.

You see, unlike expectations, hope is something that says we believe in that person or, that we believe something can be accomplished. Hope can be a powerful force in our lives but only if we let it. Meaning, hope can be interpreted in a couple of ways depending on how you use it. For example, if I’m having a conversation with someone and I say, “Well son, I sure hope you do that.” There’s a lot of doubt and uncertainty in that because it almost sounds like I’m saying, “Well son, I’m pretty sure you’re not going to do that”. But, if I say to him, “Son, I believe you can do that, don’t give up hope,” well that changes not only my tone, but it also lets him know that I have faith in him and that I will never give up in believing in him. This is what I mean when I say hope can be very powerful, depending on how we use it. 

So what does scripture tell us about hope? There are many verses that refer to hope. One in particular, hits the mark perfectly.

The hope of the righteous is gladness, but the expectation of the wicked perishes.

Proverbs 10:28

This verse tells me 2 things; Hope = Righteous & Expectation = Wicked

Now, righteous and wicked are pretty extreme opposites and I don’t think expectations are always wicked, but I do think it does fall into the “wicked” category. Meaning, that it can lead to negative impact. I believe that in some cases this is why people leave or fall away from the church. Because they expect God to always answer their prayers when they want and how they want. And when he doesn’t, (or at least they think he doesn’t) they simply give up or think God doesn't care. This is the danger in expecting things of other, especially when it comes to God. In reality, everything that comes from God (which is everything) is a gift. We really have no true concept of how much he truly does care about every single one of us.

This goes back to the topic at hand. When it’s your birthday, do you expect people to give you gifts or do you hope that people give you gifts? If you’re expecting gifts, then you may be only setting yourself up for a big disappointment. Right? So then why do we put such expectations on other people including our own children when it will most likely lead to disappointment? Why not turn the expectation into hope. How do we do that? 

We turn expectations into hope with prayers, which come from our belief, which comes from our faith, which ultimately comes from our trust in God’s plan. Giving up hope is like giving up the fight. When you give up the fight, it’s over. 

Many people who have been through some tough trials in our lives, and have withstood the heartache and pain, and have held fast, knowing that something better is coming, understand what it means when we say, “Never Give Up Hope”. 

I HOPE you enjoyed reading this. Let me know if you did. God Bless.