Tag: perseverance

This time of year tends to conjure up many expectations. Children (and adults) are drafting their Christmas lists. People anticipate the end of the year and envision kicking off the next year with power and with a plan. Many hope to spend more time with family. And (especially if you live in Chicago) you expect snow…lots of snow.

Expectation can often bring about feelings of joy, yearning, and hope. Many people say that they expect to be great, to thrive, or to live within their purpose. However, their actions sometimes do not align with the word as it is defined. Expectation is defined as “a strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the future; a belief that someone will or should achieve something.”

Based on these definitions, a few fundamental questions emerge. Do you have an honest expectation that your future will be better? Do you have an honest belief that you will or should achieve something great? Do you truly believe you have a purpose and that you will fulfill it?

How you answer these questions will reveal if you expect to be great or just hope to get lucky. To be clear, greatness isn’t about how much money you have or cars you own. Greatness is about how fully you live out your purpose on this planet so that you have the maximum influence in your area of gifting. Greatness isn’t about what you have – it’s about what you give.

EXPECTANT PREPARATION

Preparation is your greatest act of faith. Many people say that they expect to have a certain type of business, ministry or lifestyle, by age…whatever. But when you truly expect to receive something that is evidenced by how you prepare for it. For example, if I want to give you a million dollars right now and you’ve been praying for a million dollars and the day comes and I actually am holding it in a bag ready to give it to you and I say, “here, take it”. If you don’t already have a bank account set up, then you aren’t prepared to receive it. You can’t fit all of it in your purse or wallet or under the mattress. If you truly have an expectant belief that I’m going to give you that money it will cause you to prepare to receive it in advance.

If you’re not preparing for what you say you believe God is about to do for or through you it actually means that you don’t really believe that He’s going to do it. But even if He planned to use you, if you aren’t prepared when He is finally ready to use you, launch or promote you then you won’t get that blessing – not because He doesn’t want you to have it but because you won’t be ready to hold it.

EXPECTANT PROMULGATION

I know it’s a big word but essentially it just means, “to put into effect or make known.” In order to implement your vision you have to expect challenges. You have to expect to be told ‘no’. You have to expect that things may not always pan out as you anticipated. But knowing how important your purpose is – whether it be to teach young men or consult with business owners – requires you to push forward even when things don’t go as expected.

Maybe you’re a business owner and you need to make a certain number of phone calls each day in order to realize your goal. Maybe you’re an actor and you need to increase your rehearsal time. Expectation doesn’t mean pray and wait, it means pray and proceed. What are you claiming you’re ready for that you haven’t prepared for? What are you expecting that you haven’t prepared for? Whatever you expect to do in the future, you should be actively preparing for now!

EXPECTANT PROLIFERATION

Once you’ve prepared for what you expect and promoted the vision, there should come increase. The effect that you have on the people you’re influencing should begin to multiply. It is akin to starting a fire. Once the fire is started all you have to do is keep adding wood. This is how great movements are started. The visionary believes in their message, expects success and they promote it without fear. Eventually it catches fire and the world is never the same.

You may be saying to yourself, “I don’t see greatness in me. I only see obstacles before me.” From a distance opportunities and obstacles can look very similar. No one is great – until they are… We are the sum of our choices. Our choices should align with what we expect to be, produce, or influence.

High achievement always takes place in the framework of high expectation. – Charles Kettering