Anticipation

For the last couple of days we have been dog sitting for my wife's brother and sister-in-law. They have two Labrador retrievers. One is chocolate (Sage) and the other is blond (Eli). The chocolate is an older dog with hip pain who is slow moving and calm 99% of the time. He just wants you to pet him and sit with him. The blond is just barely a puppy still, but acts completely like one. He wants you to play with him 24/7. There is the tug-of-war game that he loves (and a 70 lb dog can pull pretty well!). Then there is the chase-him-around-the-room-with-the-stuffed-toy game. He always loves the pull-the-stuffing-out-of-the-toy game (that one he plays by himself when you won't play with him. You walk into the room after being gone for five minutes and the whole floor is covered with white fiber.). He really loves it when you go outside with him, put on gloves, and wrestle with him. He likes to bite the gloves as you try to keep them away from him. I have noticed that every time I open the door to let him out he has the expectation that I am going with him to play. I really just don't want him to use my floor for a toilet or, sometimes, I just want him to go run off some energy. But, he never seems to get past the prospect of more play time. When I let him out and close the door he consistently stops and looks at me as if to ask, "Aren’t you coming?" So far he hasn't changed his reaction.

Why do we change our reaction, our anticipation, of what God will do for us? He has given us a promise, given us his word, and told us to expect him to do as he said. But, unlike Eli, we stop looking for him after a while. Maybe we figure he didn't show up once, he won't show up this time. Perhaps we grow tired of "being disappointed." The truth is that God never left us. He walked out the door with us every time. God always shows up; rather, God is always here with us. It is we who do not see him, not God who is MIA.

Re-energizing your expectancy on God's trustworthiness may be the best way to find new strength to walk out the door. The Hebrew word used in the Old Testament for expectation can also mean belief. Our belief or faith in Gad should produce expectation or anticipation on our behalf. What is God asking you to believe today? How can you act on that expectation that God is here with you in your walk?

The dogs will eventually go home, but I know that Eli will still expect me to play with him whenever he sees me. I have to expect that God will always be there for me the same way.